5 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

| 

i|i«p I 4« |». 



I UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. J 



SCRIPTURE 



SPECULATIONS; 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION ON 



THE CREATION, STARS, EARTH, PRIMITIVE 
MAN, JUDAISM, ETC. 



IIALSEY R. STEVENS. 



Where the Spirit of the Lord is, I here- is Libert} 



NEWBURGH, N. Y. : 

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 

E. w. Buttenbor & Bon, Printers, 101 Watcr-at. 

] 875 









Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, 

By HALSEY K. STEVENS, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER. 
I. 
II. 
III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXL 

XXII. 

XXIII. 

XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 

XXXi. 

XXXII. 

XX XII I. 



XXXIV 
XXXV. 



PAGE. 

The Beginning 13 

Starry Worlds 28 



Constitution of the Earth 
Ages Before Adam . . ..... 

Jewish Scriptures 

Genesis 



Exodus 


136 


Leviticus 


177 


Numbers 


181 


Deuteronomy 


191 


Joshua 


200 


Judges 


211 


Ruth 


226 


First Samuel 


231 


Second Samuel 


257 


First Kings 


268 


Second Kings "...'. 


280 


First Chronicles 


292 


Second Chronicles 


296 


Ezra 


301 


Nehemiah 


303 




305 


Job ... .' 


311 




316 




. 321 




323 




326 




329 


•) l,l;i, vn VH 


343 




352 


Ezekiel 


356 


Daniel 


368 



MlNOE PEOPHETS Ilnxcii. -Joel, Aiilos,()ba(li<ill, Joiiall, 

Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, 

Zechariah, Malachi 379 

•Jkws vnd Jerusalem 395 

Chronology Ml 



ERRATA. 



Page 19, Paine, should read Pope. 
" 49, Pormian, " " Permian. 
" 58, Past-Pliocene, should read Post-Pliocene. 

" 120, 340, should read 430. 

" 111, son, " " sous. 

" 290, was course, should read was of course. 

" 351, Cassandria. " " Cassandra. 



PREFACE. 



THIS work of the broken leisure of many years was 
intended to be a critical examination of the Old Tes- 
tament Scriptures ; but, the propriety of connecting with it 
some collateral subjects became apparent upon mature con- 
sideration. Whoever wrote the book of Genesis, especially 
the fore part, evidently had as great a desire as any man 
that ever lived, to know about the beginning of things. 
Thoughts upon matters about which so little is known 
force themselves upon us so as not to be driven away. 
That such information is very limited is no fault of man's; 
surely our desire for light is strong enough; such knowl- 
edge is inclosed in a sealed book not to be opened by 
mortal hands. Our knowledge of God is through His 
works and the manifestation of His spirit. Plain common 
sense teaches us that there must have been a beginning, 
and an Infinite God co-existent with that beginning. Our 
first chapter is therefore 

"the beginning." 
With our utmost power we have endeavored to vindi- 
cate the existence of a Creative Spirit. Having looked 
back as far as mortal vision would allow, our attention 
naturally follows down the stream of time toward the 
present. To take up every single step, on a way so long, 



vi PREFACE. 

would outweary us as well as our readers. For that 
reason the next subject considered may be termed 
"starry worlds." 

This opens a field scarcely less extensive than the pre- 
vious chapter. From the first start to the period of stellar 
formations comes an extent of years not easily numbered. 
The distances and bearings of these bodies, from each 
other and from us, is a subject of such vast proportions 
we are amazed and confounded in the contemplation. 

Knowledge touching matters we so much desire to know, 
is obtained only by earnest application and profound study. 

Which of the bodies in space antedates the rest, who 
can tell ? 

Our astral system is thought to be among the youngest, 
and our sun system not to be so old even as some others 
in this astral. With one long stride we come down to the 
consideration of the ^planet on which we live, under the 
title: 

"the constitution of the earth." 

This includes Paleontology and Geology, both of which 
are spoken of briefty, yet sufficiently for the purpose in 
view. A small portion only of the evidence available to 
show the earth's antiquity is produced, but enough to 
prove it far older than the Mosaic account. The earth's 
crust is open to our every day inspection. Previous gen- 
erations have known a little of it, and each succeeding 
year makes advance. 

"AGES BEFORE ADAM." 

This has been adopted as the heading of another chapter 
which tries to prove the existence of pre-historic nations 



PREFACE. vii 

so long 1 before the Adamite period as to outrun all calcu- 
lation upon such ages of ages, though the fact itself is 
very easily and briefly shown. 

"THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES." 

This chapter comprises general remarks concerning 
those writings considered especially sacred by the Jews, 
and so regarded by the majority of Christians. Our views 
are to some extent in conflict with those current among 
the "orthodox," nor are they the echo of any sect, but 
they are honestly entertained, and have been strengthened 
by years upon years of earnest, not irreverent, thinking. 
Quotations are made, under this and other heads, from 
trustworthy writers whose language is far more forcible 
than any we could frame, but rarely without these thoughts 
having been among our earliest conceptions. This is 
especially true of what we have taken from Bishop Colenso. 
Our aim has been to follow the lead of independent writers, 
and present the views of standard authors in matters of 
general information. 

"genesis." 

This first book of the Pentateuch is treated in some 
particulars quite fully. Our reverence for so ancient a 
record has not prevented us from objecting to it as a literal 
statement of facts, and many reasons are given to show 
that such objections are well founded. That much-talked-of 
" fall," with which the creeds of Christendom are full to 
overflowing, is treated as a mere tradition — certainly not 
a direct communication from God to Moses. Another great 
point is made against the exact truth of the Noachian 
deluge Many reasons are given why there must have 



viii PREFACE. 

been a mistake in handing the story down to us along 
with much we have no disposition to question. In a work 
of this kind it is necessary to dwell on particular portions 
of the sacred narration, for to dispute the truth of anything 
by mere assertion, is really to impose upon the reader. 
When, viewing it on every side, a position appears on its 
face to be untenable, overwhelming proof may not be 
required. Self-evident facts exist, and sometimes the 
falsity of a proposition is so evident that argument seems 
to be superfluous. The idea that the Old Testament is all 
the literal word of God ought to be discarded as inter- 
fering with its just estimate. But our broad assertion 
and heartfelt belief we desire to record here at the start: 
That all truth ou the earth or in the heavens — in whatever 
shape and under whatever covering — is the Word of God 
and God's truth. All that is false comes from the Devil, 
the great fountain of evil — the opposing force to good. 

The fall of man, as it is represented, is a very important 
affair, because, if a majority of the race are to be eternally 
damned, creation was a curse instead of a blessing. 

The deluge, looked at from the proper stand-point, seems 
an exceedingly strange arrangement to be planned, sanc- 
tioned and executed by Infinite Goodness ; for it was no less 
than the destruction, according to the history, of what God 
himself had a short time before made and pronounced good. 

" EXODUS." 

This is an important book, in which we find many things 
deeply interesting, and which we dwell upon particularly. 
The Hebrews, beyond a doubt in servitude for many years 
in Egypt, in due time made their escape and settled in 



PREFACE. 



IX 



Canaan, from whence they had originally emigrated. The 
great subject for dispute regards the so-called miracles 
performed by Moses and Aaron — the question whether — 
though Moses seemed to get the better of Pharaoh and his 
Magicians — there was any radical difference in the power 
by which such things were effected; whether, indeed, the 
Lord had any more to do with the one than the other. 

All the other books are taken up in their proper order, 
some of them at length with critical remarks, but with no 
intention of general disparagement, yet in many cases 
with an endeavor to show that the record must be taken 
with great allowance, and cannot possibly be the precise 
word of God. The main history is not to be disputed. 
Much, however, needs qualification to escape being utterly 
misunderstood. The prophetic books we have not intended 
to handle harshly, because they are the writings of men 
believed by millions to have been God's mouthpieces — 
oracles not only to their generation, but endowed with 
something of Divine fore-knowledge. Many believe that 
several of the prophets foresaw Jesus, and were therefore 
able to foreshadow his character and his mission. If we 
do not see this it is from lack of ability, not for want of 
disposition. After carefully studying the pssages most 
relied on, we honestly plead want of conviction. Nor can 
we see the necessity of any such prediction of the advent 
of Jesus. Granting that he is a Savior, is he any the more 
so on account of the prophetic proclamation a few hundred 
years in advance ? 

"THE JEWS AND JERUSALEM," 

Is a chapter that may be called historical. As the con- 



x PREFACE. 

elusion of what we felt moved to say about this wandering 
dove from the Ark, it is inserted with the hope that it may 
interest and profit. 

" Chronology" could not well be omitted in a volume of 
this kind, and is therefore given a place. 

The intention of what we have written has been not 
only to increase the interest of plain persons like ourselves 
in the ancient Scriptures of Judea, but to remove some 
stumbling stones out of their path — to exalt holy living 
above everything under the sun, and to vindicate Deity as 
far as we can from seeming partial, jealous and vindictive. 

Try to prevent it as man may, the chains of dogma and 
tradition are being broken, because fetters irritate men as 
well as animals; because common sense and every-day 
conscience show that none will be adjudged guilty for 
not believing what appears to them untrue, any more than 
for believing too much where they imagine there is 
evidence. Our faith is in a purely spiritual hereafter, 
which we consider the true theory of religion; but all 
speculations in regard to the two places where men are 
expected to go after death, we consider fancies of the 
human brain — mere day-dreams of the devout imagination. 
Our duty is to go forward in every Christian work accord- 
ing to our honest convictions, humbly and thankfully 
looking upward for the true spirit — seeking sincerely after 
the pure waters of life. We all want strength and impulse 
to do our duty, that we may at last reach that holy, happy 
place where the righteous and the loving forever dwell. 
All truth is from God, and forms a part of His essence and 
nature. Man stands in the same relation to Him to-day 



PREFACE. x i 

that he ever has. God's spirit is everywhere, as it was in 
Isaiah's time, and is just as available for prophetic uses 
now as in any century before. And yet let no person 
think for a moment, because of our perfect freedom of 
speech, that we would dispense with the clergy and 
abandon the Sabbath to the loose habits prevailing- 
where there is no public worship. The clergy do more 
good than any other class. They close many a door against 
vice; they pursue what they sincerely believe the best 
course to prevent sin and fit mankind to leave this world 
ready for enjoying the next. 

Different men have different susceptibilities. Some are 
terrified when told they are in danger of going to a bad 
place called hell, and at once promise anything or agree 
to anything, if by that means they can escape; but at the 
same time they have no real desire to be good for the sake 
of goodness. They do not love good and hate evil because 
of the qualities that inhere in each. Faith is excellent if 
founded as it should be on a noble life; but most men are 
so possessed with anxiety about the things of this world, 
that they leave the next to take care of itself. We have 
no intention of setting at naught Infinite wisdom, or of 
treating eternal things with irreverence. The manly 
course for all writers is to say what they think just and 
true, and leave the event to God. Keeping back truth is 
a sin. Better by far speak out, that one's views may come 
to the light, and that tin? pure air of Heaven may disperse 
any unintentional error. Duty to ourselves and our age 
requires perfect honesty. The cause of truth gains un- 
speakably by freedom of utterance as well as by sincerity 



x ii PREFACE. 

of life. As to the nature of future existence, we are at 
most but poorly informed. Nor can the time required to 
wash out the stain of sin and purify a defiled soul be 
estimated at all; though the Apostle to the Gentiles puts 
the matter in the strongest light by declaring to Timothy 
that God will have all men to be saved. 

But what are all our petty trials and transient annoy- 
ances here, compared with gaining that immortal crown, 
the inheritance of eternal life! 

Thoughts like these have stirred the hearts of the good 
and true in every age, and will stir them more as 
Christianity gets deeper hold upon generous aud pure 
souls. H. R. S. 

Newburgh, 1815. 



SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE BEGINNING. 

IN reference to the dim and misty past — the primitive 
start of primitive matter — how shall we speak ? First 
of all, we may suppose the existence of a God as universal 
creator, who made matter from nothing, and Himself with- 
out substance- But when we consider that thought is 
substance, it must be admitted that God, though a spirit, 
has substance, strictly speaking. If a spiritual essence, 
by no possibility could He have existed before the essence 
did, and the question comes up — evade it as we will — 
Who made the spiritual essence ? But, in considering the 
birth of Nature, there is no place at which we can begin. 
It is the loftiest theme for human contemplation, yet we 
cannot help asking : How and when was the beginning — 
the first germination — the cause of all causes ? We desire 
to know it in spite of the conviction that it is unknowable; 
possibly, that this knowledge may not be attainable in any 
future. But thought cannot be stifled. Mind is perpetu- 
ally active; chains cannot bind it nor prison doors shut 
out its light. Constituting as it does a part of God him- 
self, it cannot be destroyed ; and as the power of God acts 
without cessation, some have asserted that the mind is 



14 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

never absolutely at rest; but the investigation of this 
theory leads to speculations too grand for our powers. 
We know, however, that when our bodies lie in the embrace 
of sleep, the mind wanders to places upon which our mortal 
eyes never looked; and our fancies depict things in this 
world, and possibly in the world to come. These night 
visions differ in character; some are delightful in the ex- 
treme, others of the most painful and distressing character. 

Our thoughts about creation having led us farther and 
farther back until light was entirely shut out, we naturally 
feel our way along on the return toward our starting place ; 
and take our stand at a point that is more enjoyable 
because the things about us are better comprehended, and 
our faculties feel themselves in a familiar home. 

Readily we conclude that matter and its laws existed 
from all eternity; that is, they had no conceivable begin- 
ning within the range of thought; for really an attempt to 
define eternity is of all things the most futile. Though 
the start of matter is among the hidden mysteries, some- 
thing did not come from nothing, with nobody to form it. 
Nor can any power on the earth or in the heavens make a 
thing without a law for its formation to govern it. Matter 
in its molecular state, had no beginning within the reach 
of our conception. So with its laws, Eternal Essence, 
Truth, and Justice. 

Poor finite beings as we are, how, why and where do we 
inherit immortality ? The answer is: With all our faith in 
the Bible, and all our hopes in the resurrection, we cannot 
tell — we do not know. Yet reasoning faculties should not 
be laid aside and human reason treated as worthless on 



THE BEGINNING. 15 

that account; rather is it an inducement to come close 
home to our souls — to strike deep into our own conscious- 
ness. Irresistible is the conclusion that there is a God, 
who made all we see, hear about or can conceive of. 
When once we fall into this channel, like the unceasing 
trade winds or the Gulf current, we are borne along. If 
we try to head up against this wind and current, the work 
is so hard and the gain so little, the effort is soon given 
up. Not many minds are equal to rational thought farther 
back than the conception of God's existence, with the frank 
avowal that by no possibility can we fully understand 
anything beyond His infinity and eternity of power. We 
can safely think back to the time when primitive matter 
existed in the most minute molecular state, and fix on that 
time as the great starting point; yet, in considering' that 
state of things, we are as much in a fog as to start with 
the ordinary idea of an all-wise, eternal being, named the 
Uncaused Cause — the most perfectly false of all false logic. 
Naturally we speak of a beginning. What beginning is 
it ? Can there have been a beginning to time ? Can 
there be any limit to space ? When you go back of time, 
where are you ? When you go outside the limits of space, 
what place are you in ? Therefore the real starting point 
of creation we know nothing about — certainly not when 
that certain something came from that certain nothing. 
It is said something — even when that came into being — 
could not shape itself; and therefore that some directing 
mind must have shaped it. Instead of getting out of diffi- 
culty by this kind of reasoning, we only sink deeper, and 
come irresistibly to the same conclusion as before, viz.: of 



16 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

the real beginning we know nothing, and but little of 
any being above us. Our earth had a birthday, and 
so did all the planets of our system and all other systems. 
All Nature, too, had a birthday. How many millions 
of years have passed away since that time, we have 
no means of calculating. Naturally, and without the 
least straining, we incline to the simple theory that God 
created all things. Almost instinctively we say there is a 
God. Few, if any, in this age of light, can be found who 
will whisper in their heart of hearts, " there is no God." 
We say most emphatically, and without equivocation, that 
there is an Infinite Power. Different minds, in trying to 
fathom the mystery of Godliness, begin to theorize and 
speculate. From Theism they work their way into Mono- 
theism, further on to Polytheism, and the worst species of 
idolatry; for we must admit that the idea of one God 
came first. Trinitarianism was entirely unknown among 
the Jews; their faith was decidedly Unitarian. The differ- 
ence between these two modes of faith has already caused, 
and will cause, a vast amount of controversy. We not 
only believe in one only living and true God, but that he 
has holy angels whom no man can number hovering about 
all who long for their presence and influence. Crude ideas 
of an eternal God have been entertained as far back as any 
history. Ideas of an affectionate and loving God, merciful 
and kind, watching over and caring for us, spring up in the 
heart naturally as the outgushing of human sympathy. 

In our contemplation of the divine being, a great mis- 
take has been made by giving Him so many characteristics 
of humanity. As a consequence, those qualities have 



THE BEGINNING. If 

become interwoven with our thoughts so as to dwarf 
our conceptions of Him every way. The following lines 
from Pope show the universality of God's presence: 

' 'All are but parts of one stupendous whole, 
Whose body Nature is, and God the soul. 
That changed through all, and yet in all the same, 
Great in the earth, as in the etherial frame ; 
Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze, 
Glows in the stars and blossoms in the trees; 
Lives through all life, extends through all extent. 
Spreads undivided, operates unspent; 
Breathes in our soul, informs our mortal part, 
As full, as perfect, in a hare as heart; 
As full, as perfect, in vile man that mourns, 
As the rapt seraph that adores and burns: 
To Him no high, no low, no great, no small — 
He fills, He bounds, connects, and equals all." 

Turning to our latest lexicons for a definition of the 
term God, we are told it means the Supreme Being; the 
eternal and infinite Spirit, the Creator and the Sovereign 
of the universe; Jehovah; and sometimes a false God or 
heathen Deity; an idol, a prince, a ruler, a magistrate, a 
judge, an angel. A learned author says: "This name, of 
uncertain derivation, we give to that Eternal, Infinite, 
Perfect and Incomprehensible Being, the Creator of all 
things, the Preserver of all by his almighty power and 
incomprehensible wisdom, and the only proper object of 
worship." The peculiar Hebrew name, " Jehovah," denoted 
Him that is — the true Being. This name was seldom used 
by the Jews through superstitious reverence. Philo states 
that only those whose lips and ears were divinely purged 
had any right to speak or hear the awful word. Another 
name, "Adonai," was used by them, which expressed rather 



18 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

authority than eternity, and so came nearer to our idea of 
Lord as the power presiding over that particular people. 
Wherever in the Pentateuch or Old Testament writings 
we find the name God, Lord, or Lord God, we determine 
its meaning according to the connection in which it is found. 
In many cases the Eternal Jehovah is not meant. God 
was with Moses in Midian before he undertook to de- 
liver his people, returned with him to Egypt, and led 
the march of his host across the Red Sea. While under 
Sinai, kind angels hovered around them in the silent 
watches of the night, dreary as they were in that stony 
desert. If the pillar of fire and the cloud had not guided, 
God's spirit certainly would. If Moses excavated the 
ground to obtain water, God moved him to do it. He gave 
wisdom to Moses and the artizans to construct the ark and 
the tabernacle — all which might be without the personal 
appearance of God to Moses, or their familiar conversa- 
tions. Thomas Paine held that " the only true manifesta- 
tion of God was through his works." This, he said, 
constituted a book all could read — which no human inven- 
tion could counterfeit or alter; existing independent of all 
human speech, it could never be lost, forged or suppressed; 
nor did it depend on the will of man to publish it, but was 
its own publisher from one end of the world to the other — 
the revealer to man of all that it was necessary to know 
of Deity. If we wish to contemplate His power, we see 
it in the order by which the whole universe is governed; 
His munificence by the abundance with which the earth is 
filled; and His mercy in the not withholding that abund- 
ance even from the unthankful. 



THE BEGINNING. 19 

The only idea that man can affix to the name of God is 
that of a first cause — the cause of all things; and though 
there is a difficulty in believing in it, we necessarily have 
recourse to a first cause to escape tenfold difficulties in 
rejecting it. And this originating, immaterial existence 
is God! What more does man want to know, proceeds 
Mr. Paine, quoting Addison's " The spacious firmament on 
high," than that the hand which made these things is 
Divine ? Believing this with all his heart, applying it 
with all his reason, acting it with all his will, would con- 
secrate his life infallibly to wisdom, purity and love. 

In the book of Job the question is asked: " Canst thou 
by searching find out God?" Yes; because, in the first 
place, I know I did not make myself, and yet I have exist- 
ence; and by searching into the nature of things, I find 
that no other thing could make itself, and yet millions of 
other things exist; therefore it is that I know by necessary 
conclusion that there is a power superior to all these 
things, and that power is God. But the Almighty cannot 
be found out to perfection, because the power and wisdom 
he has manifested in creation are (to all finite beings) 
incomprehensible. Nor is all that mortal man can conceive 
of creation comparatively more than a speck — an atom of 
the whole. Human thought is lost in the contemplation 
of the immensity of space, as of time. Worlds on worlds, 
systems running into systems — all sustained by the hand 
of God! How, then, can we fully know Him? Paine says, 
too truly, the God many believe in is really " changeful, 
passionate, unjust; whose attributes are rage, revenge or 
Just." That which is called natural philosophy, embracing 



20 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

the whole circle of science, is the study of the works of 
God, and of the power and wisdom manifested above all 
in astronomy, and is the true theology. The theology that 
is now studied in its place, is the study of human opinions 
and fancies concerning Deity. So the original and beau- 
tiful system of theology has been abandoned, to the great 
dishonor of God. 

Every exalted attribute attaches to God in an infinite 
degree; and yet we cannot say that all things are possible 
even with Him. He cannot love and hate the same thing 
at the same time. There are physical impossibilities that 
lie in the nature of things. It is not possible for a wise 
and infinitely good being whose nature is love, to be filled 
with wrath, or to possess many of the passions character- 
izing our poor humanity. Who can conceive of Infinite 
wrath, Infinite fury, or Infinite vengeance? What a sad 
fate would overtake us all, were there besides the load of 
sin most of us carry, the infinite wrath of an infinite God 
crushing us utterly ? 

Much is said in the pulpit and written in books about 
our pleasing God and magnifying his name. All do not 
realize the full force of such expressions. How can we 
magnify the glory of God ? Such a remark has less force 
than careless thinkers imagine. God alone can magnify 
himself, and is doing it continually. We please Him by 
doing right, by loving the truth, by acts of charity, by 
showing gratitude for favors, and a thousand similar ex- 
pressions of childlike reverence. By all these good acts 
His character is displayed, and His name properly honored. 
This constitutes the sincerest praise — this, too, the highest 



THE BEGINNING. 21 

homage. None ought to think they can honor God with 
their breath, without good acts and sincere devotion pro- 
ceeding from the heart, Man has always been inclined to 
look at the surface without probing to the bottom. When 
idolatrous worship was first adopted, it was not that the 
great God of Heaven and earth was laid aside and forgot- 
ten; it was simply that He was dimly seen. Through the 
figures in heathen temples they strained their feeble eyes 
to see into the all-surrounding darkness. Superstition 
dates back to the commencement of humanity. To say 
we are rid of it now, would be extravagance indeed. The 
truth warrants no such assumption of superiority. Our 
families do not, like those in pagan lands, bow before a 
tutelar Divinity, and yet they may have a very similar 
superstition. The vilest wretch on earth, as well as the 
ripest saint, looks up to God only in different degrees. 
They call on Him for succor in distress, especially in the 
hour of death. Wickedness is no bar to such an action of 
the soul, for, if that were so, we should all be cut off from 
turning to Him; for all have sinned, as we know by expe- 
rience, without going back to Adam. 

God knows our wants. In His hands we are therefore 
to breathe devoutly: "Thy will be done!" and this in 
imitation of our Divine Master. God only knows what 
is best for us, although we are so apt to think we know 
ourselves. Why then should we desire to alter His de- 
crees ? Is it not far more our duty to yield ourselves to 
His disposal ? 

Intermediately between man and God there may be 
many grades of being. If any are immediately associated 



22 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

with Him, or maintained in His presence, they must be in 
perpetual obedience to His will and perpetual employment 
in His service — acting from the same pure and holy 
motives; though this is very much a matter of inference. 
To sit at God's right hand may not imply a literal place 
near Him, but simply our being high in His favor. Jesus 
was the son of God more emphatically than any other 
being clothed with flesh; but others may be sons in a 
lesser degree, in proportion as the3 r are Godlike. In this 
spiritual sense every good man is a son of God. AH, who 
with their whole soul try to do service in the cause of 
righteousness, are God's servants, to say the least, We 
all have great reason to rejoice that He reigns supreme, 
so that doing His pleasure is not only ministering to our 
own blessedness, but to that of all who live, move and 
have their being. 

In a work entitled The Greeds of Christendom, by Wm. 
RathbOne Greg, the following sentiments are advanced: 

"Atheism is a charge which the common understanding 
has repeatedly brought against the finer speculations of 
philosophy, when, in endeavoring to solve the riddle of 
existence, they have approached, albeit with reverence 
and humility, the source of existence. Shrouded from 
human comprehension in an obscurity from which chas- 
tened imagination is awed back, and thought retreats in 
conscious weakness, the Divine Nature is surely a theme 
on which man is little entitled to dogmatize. Accordingly 
it is here that the philosophic intellect becomes painfully 
aware of its own insufficiency. Every man's conception 
of God must vary with his mental cultivation and powers. 



THE BEGINNING. 23 

If be content himself with any lower image than his 
intellect can grasp, he contents himself with that which 
is false to him, as well as false in fact — one which, being 
lower than he might reach, he must ipso facto feel to be 
false. The peasant's idea of God — true to him — would be 
false to me, because I should feel it to be unworthy and 
inadequate. If the nineteenth century after Christ adopts 
the conceptions of the nineteenth century before him — if 
cultivated and chastened Christians adopt the conceptions 
of the ignorant, narrow, and vindictive Israelite — they are 
guilty of thinking ivorse of God, of taking a lower, meaner 
view of his nature than the faculties he has bestowed are 
capable of inspiring. Being finite, we coai form no ade- 
quate idea of the Infinite; being material, we can form no 
clear conception of the Spiritual. The question of a Reve- 
lation can in no way affect this conclusion; since even 
the Omnipotence of God cannot infuse infinite conceptions 
into finite minds; cannot, without an entire change of the 
conditions of our being, pour a full knowledge of His 
nature into the bounded capacity of a mortal's soul. Hu- 
man intelligence could not grasp it; human language could 
not express it. The consciousness of the individual reveals 
itself alone; his knowledge cannot pass beyond the limits 
of his own being. His conceptions of other things and 
other beings are only his conceptions ; they are not those 
things or beings themselves. The living principle of a 
living Universe must be infinite, while all our conceptions 
are finite, and applicable only to finite beings. The Deity 
is thus not an object of knowledge, but of faith; not to be 
approached by the understanding, but by the moral sense; 



24 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

not to be conceived, but to be felt. All attempts to em- 
brace the infinite in the conception of the finite are, and 
and must be, only accommodations to the frailty of man. 
" The most comprehensive proposition which an inquirer 
finds at the root of the popular theology, is this: That the 
Old Testament narratives contain an authentic history of 
the actual dealings of God with man; that the events 
which they relate took place as therein related, and were 
recorded by well-informed and veracious writers; that 
wherever God is represented as visiting- and speaking to 
Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samuel, and others, he did 
really so appear and communicate his will; that the ark, 
as built by Noah, was constructed under the detailed 
directions of the Architect of all worlds; that the Law, as 
contained in the Pentateuch, was delivered to Moses and 
written down by him under the immediate dictation 'of 
Jehovah, and the proceedings of the Israelites minutely 
directed by Him; that, in a word, the Old Testament is a 
literal history, not merely a national legend. This funda- 
mental branch of popular theology also includes the belief 
that the Books of Moses were written by Moses; that of 
Joshua by Joshua, and so on; and further, that the Pro- 
phetical Books, and the predictions contained in the His- 
torical Books, are genuine oracles from the mouth of God, 
uttered through the medium of His servants, whom at 
various times He instructed to make known his will to his 
chosen people. We are required to believe that the Pure, 
Spiritual, Supreme, Ineffable Creator of the Universe — our 
Father who is in Heaven — so blundered in the creation of 
man as toiepent and grieve, and find it necessary to de- 



THE BEGINNING. 25 

stroy His own work — selected one favored people from the 
rest of His children — sanctioned fraud — commanded cru- 
elty — contended long" in vain with the magic of other 
Gods— wrestled bodily with one Patriarch- — ate cakes and 
veal with another — sympathised with and shared in human 
passions — and manifested ' scarcely one untainted moral 
excellence;' and we are required to do this painful violence 
to our feeling's and our understandings, simply because 
these coarse conceptions prevailed some thousands of 
years ago among a people whose history, as written by 
themselves, is certainly not of a nature to inspire us with 
any extraordinary confidence in their virtues or their 
intellect. 

"He is never asserted to be the only God; the existence 
and power of rival deities is never denied, but is even 
admitted by implication. All that Moses claims for Jeho- 
vah, is not that He is the sole God, but that He is superior 
to all others. He represents Him to Pharaoh, by Jehovah's 
own command, as the ' God of the Hebrews,' not as the 
Supreme Lord of Heaven and Earth. Even in the delivery 
of the Commandments, the great fountain of the law, it is 
not said : ' There is no God but Jehovah,' but only ' I am 
the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the house of 
bondage.' The whole of the xxiv chapter of Joshua con- 
firms this view : he there urges the Israelites to choose 
Jehovah, not as the only God, whom to desert would be 
atheism, but as the God whose bounties to them had been 
so great that it would be black ingratitude not to prefer 
Him to all others. The frequent lapses of the Jewish 
nation into idolatry also negative the idea of their having 



26 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

been monotheists. The worship of the golden calf and 
the Canaanitish gods was quite natural on the supposition 
of Jehovah being merely a paramount God; monstrous, if 
they had believed him to be the only one. Moreover, 
their idolatry is always spoken of as infidelity, not as 
atheism. As civilization advanced, prophets, sages and 
poets arose among the Hebrews, to whom the limited 
and anthropomorphic conceptions of the Deity, prevalent 
among the people, were painfully inadequate; and they 
endeavored by nobler representations of the object of 
worship, to convert the national religion into a pure theism; 
in which, however, it is thought that they did not succeed 
till after the Captivity. After this idea had once taken 
root, the nation never showed any disposition to relapse 
into idolatry But even to the latest period of the Canon- 
ical writings, we find representations both of the nature 
and attributes of Jehovah so utterly discrepant as to leave 
no doubt that among the Jews, as among all other nations, 
the God of the wise and the God of the ignorant — the God 
of the Priests and the God of the Prophets — were the 
embodiment of two very different classes of ideas. Let 
any one compare the partial, revengeful, unstable, and 
deceitful God of Exodus and Numbers, with the sublime 
and unique Deity of Job, and the nobler Psalms ; or 
even the God of Isaiah with the God of Ezekiel and 
Daniel — and he can scarcely fail to admit that the concep- 
tion of the one living and true God was a plant of gradual 
growth in the Hebrew mind, and was due not to Moses, 
the Patriarchs, or the Priests, but to the supremacy of 
individual minds at various periods of their history." 



THE BEGINNING. 27 

The Jews as a nation were not believers in the exclusive 
existence of one sole God till a very late period in their 
history. Mr. Greg says that "Man's idea of God passed 
through three forms of development: We have Him rep- 
resented first as the God of the individual or family ; 
then as the (rod of the nation ; lastly, as the God of the 
human race. The representations of God in the history 
of Abraham leave little doubt that the God whom he wor- 
shipped was a. family God, selected by him for some 
reason unknown to us, out of a number of others who 
were worshipped by his father and his tribe. We are 
expressly told that the father and grandfather of Abraham 
'worshipped other gods.' Representations given of the 
God of Abraham, and of his proceedings during the lives 
of the three Patriarchs, are so mean and material that it 
is difficult to conceive how a knowledge of the one true 
God, maker of Heaven and earth, could have been ascribed 
to any of them." 



28 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE STARRY WORLDS. 

WE desire to contrast our solar system, astral system, 
and all the rest of the heavenly bodies yet known 
to us, with the limited view of the firmament in the opening- 
chapters of the Bible. 

Astronomy, next to medicine the oldest of sciences, is 
far better understood now than ever before. We know 
not who began this most devout study ; the priesthood in 
Egypt were famous students of the stars; books of astron- 
omy of vast antiquity have been found in India; but the 
first clear light on the heavens cannot be traced farther 
back than three thousand years before our era. The great 
Alexandrian school, founded 300 B. C, marks an epoch in 
the study of the heavens amidst the unparalleled luxuriance 
of the arts, the creation of the largest of libraries, and 
the activity of a world-wide intercourse. Widely prevalent 
errors and prejudices prevented any very decided progress 
till the time of Copernicus, who started astronomers on 
the path they are still following with such success. Since 
his time instruments have been amazingly improved, and 
the ability to measure angles correspondingly increased. 
In the Alexandrian school, three centuries before Christ, 
no instrument could measure an angle of less than ten 



THE STARRY WORLDS. 29 

minutes, and even that was considered something* wonder- 
ful. Bat with even these imperfect instruments vast 
discoveries were made. Tycho Brahe was able in his time 
to measure an angle of ten seconds; but we have reached 
ten thousand times greater accuracy, and can now measure 
an arc not larger than a thousandth of a second. This 
accuracy enables us to determine the distance of the fixed 
stars from eacli other and from our earth. Observatories 
have been established in distant parts ; object glasses have 
been enlarged nine times, and specuhirns from six inches 
to six feet. The best telescopes are now so mounted that 
the whole heavens can be surveyed. 

The sun and planets of our system naturally engage our 
attention first. The solid mass is surrounded by a luini- 
niferous shell. Estimates have been made that each square 
yard gives out more heat every hour than the burning of 
six tons of coal. Were the sun a vast body of anthracite, 
thirty-five cubic miles would be burned off every year, 
reducing him to ashes of necessity in four thousand years. 
His mean distance from the earth up to 1862 was computed 
to be 95i millions of miles, but the exact distance is esti- 
mated now to be about 92 millions. Three centuries 
before the Christian era the best astronomers held that 
the sun moved round the earth. It was just before Luther's 
time that Copernicus inaugurated that system which has 
borne his name and has maintained its place these four 
hundred years. In 1680 Newton discovered the law of 
gravitation upon which the planets proceed. 

The whole length of the earth's orbit is ascertained to be 
a little more than 574 millions of miles, and the velocity 



30 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

of its motion a little over eighteen miles a second. If the 
earth were a cannon ball shot at the sun, and the moment 
of explosion telegraphed to that body, a man there would 
receive the telegram in five minutes, and would see the 
earth coming' in eight and a quarter minutes more. 

The sun's rays part with a third of their heat in passing 
through the atmosphere, and about one-sixth in the 
last four miles of approach to the earth. The exceed- 
ingly swift fall of bodies into the sun generates heat as 
we know, and heat is identical to a great extent with 
light; neither of them are substances like the atoms thrown 
off from an odoriferous body, but are undulating waves 
which pervade all space. Sir John ITerschel estimates the 
sun's light and heat upon any portion of its surface as one 
hundred and forty-six times that of an equal surface of 
lime under the intensest flame we can possibly make. Of 
this heat earth receives only the two thousand millionth 
part; it is evidently the origin of all force, and must be 
maintained in the sun b} T the perpetual destruction of 
something of the projectile kind. 

Sun spots have for many years been carefulty studied. 
The best authorities declare that some of them cover mil- 
lions of square miles and remain for months; others are 
much smaller and very temporary in their duration. Prof. 
Norton of Yale College says that these spots are for the 
most part connected in some way with the operation of a 
physical agency exerted by the planets upon the photo- 
sphere; and this theory has been confirmed by eminent 
astronomers. The variations of the spots produce a cor- 
responding variation of our light and heat. The magnetic 



THE STARRY WORLDS. 31 

needle also is affected by them, its greatest oscillations 
occurring when there are the most spots. Auroras may 
be attributed to the same causes and are really electrical 
phenomena. Comets are only planets of long and uncer- 
tain periods of revolution. Our skies are seldom afflicted 
with meteors except when we are passing through what 
is supposed to be broken fragments of planets, about 
which we actually know nothing. 

Though the laws of stability seem perfectly established 
in the universe, temporary disturbances continually occur 
in our system; and it seems certain that in the lapse of 
ages more permanent changes will take place also, but no 
calculations of ours would begin to approach their period. 
Some conspicuous stars have gone out since men began 
to observe them, and they arc not pigmies like the earth, 
but many of them far greater than our sun. In cycles of 
ages the entire destruction of our solar system may take 
place; but by and by equally conservative forces may be 
detected. As we study profoundly, much that we term 
decay shows itself to be transition, as our favorite Amer- 
ican poet declares the death of man to be. 

The moon's greatest distance from the earth is about 
two hundred and fifty-two thousands of miles, and her least 
distance two hundred and twenty-six. Her diameter is 
2,165 miles, and her density three-fifths of that of the 
earth. She is covered with large craters of burnt-out 
volcanoes, some of them eighty miles across. There is no 
appearance of water or air upon her surface. 

Five stars unlike the others were particularly noticed at 
an early day, two of them taking less than a year for their 



32 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

motion round the earth, one taking- two years, another 
twelve, and another thirty. They were wanderers or 
planets — from a Greek verb — and were either named after 
some heathen deity, or the deity after them; for it is not 
certain which came first, the heathen mythology, or that 
belief in the planets influencing- the bodies and fortunes of 
men which we call astrology. These planets still keep 
their old names, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. 
With the sun and moon, they made the principal persona- 
ges in that "host of heaven" which the idolaters of old 
adored time out of mind — ages certainly before the Greeks 
became their adorers. The first Greek historian, Herodotus, 
declares that Homer, their first poet, a contemporary with 
Elisha, learned the name of Jupiter and the other gods 
from the Egyptians who practised divination by the planets, 
like their neighbors the Chaldeans. Pagan idolatry was 
identified with a belief in the influence of these celestial 
bodies over the affairs of men. Copernicus was the first 
to show the motion of these bodies around the sun. 

Mercury, the first in order, has a mean distance from the 
sun of thirty-five millions of miles, and a circuit of eighty- 
eight days. His diameter is 3,050 miles; he is three times 
the size of the moon, and more than five times the specific 
gravity of the earth. He turns on his own axis slower 
than the earth, but moves faster through space, having a 
rate of one hundred and five thousand miles an hour. 

Venus has a period of a little more than two hundred 
and twenty-four days, a diameter of seven thousand, seven 
hundred and seventy miles, and a motion of seventy-seven 
miles per hour. 



THE STARRY WORLDS. 33 

Mars' mean distance from the sun is 139 millions of 
miles, with a period of six hundred and eighty-seven days, 
and a motion of fifty-three thousand miles an hour. His 
density is two-thirds that of the earth. His diameter only 
4,155 miles. 

Asteroids: Before the discovery of these pigmy planets 
there was a wide vacancy between Mars and Jupiter; but 
now more than a hundred asteroids have been brought to 
light. 

Jupiter is 1,246 times as large as the earth and one thou- 
sandth part of the sun, its diameter one tenth of that body, 
its weight less than one thousandth ; the revolutions upon 
its own axis in less than ten hours. The mean distance of 
this planet from the sun is 47 h\ millions of miles, and its 
speed twenty-seven thousand miles an hour. The density 
of Jupiter resembles our earth. His orbit is very eccentric, 
varying forty-six millions of miles, being that much nearer 
the sun at perihelion than at aphelion, and getting one 
fifth more heat in one case than the other. 

Saturn has nine times the diameter of the earth, but is 
only ninety times as heavy, though more than seven hun- 
dred times as large, turning on his axis in ten and a half 
hours. His mean distance from the sun is eight hundred 
and seventy-two millions of miles; his time of revolution 
twenty-nine and a half years; his rate of motion twenty 
thousand miles an hour; his light and heat are but a 
ninetieth of the earth's; gravity at his surface is nearly 
the same as at ours. 

These were all the planets known until about a century 
ago, when Herschel discovered another named Uranus 



34 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

after another heathen deity the grandfather of Jove, whose 
name in Greek means Heaven itself, beyond which it was 
supposed nothing could possibly exist. It is 1,153 millions 
of miles from the sun, moves at the rate of 14,500 miles 
an hour, consumes more than eighty-four years in its 
circuit, and is seventy times as large as the earth. He is 
known to have four moons and perhaps eight. 

Half a century after Uranus, persevering efforts were 
made to discover another wanderer; and in the year 1846 
G-alle of Berlin brought Neptune to light, a name taken 
again from ancient mythology from the brother of Jove. 
He is distant from the sun 2,850 millions of miles, makes 
his circuit in about one hundred and sixty-five years with 
a speed of 10,500 miles an hour. His diameter being 
38,133 miles, his bulk is one hundred and fifteen times 
that of the earth, and he has one satellite. 

Vulcan has been proposed as a name for a small planet 
suspected by M. Le Verrier to be about fourteen millions 
of miles from the sun. But nothing definite is known, 
and possibly it has no existence. 

Comets are not solid bodies like the planets, and have 
orbits far more eccentric; some have intervals so enormous 
as to be infinite — having had a voyage of twenty billions of 
miles lasting through eight millions of years. Those 
which come nearest to the sun may have had a solar origin; 
and then we are to think of that body vomiting forth 
cornetic matter with such force as to hurl it far beyond the 
solar system — and conceive of planets once in a sun-like 
state able to imitate this gigantic feat. That wonderful 
instrument which we owe to Kirchhoff, the spectroscope, 



THE STARRY WORLDS. ~ 35 

has taught us so much of the comet structure that the 
light of its nucleus is of a glowing solid and that of the 
coma a glowing vapor; but, vastly more it has not begun 
to explain, especially about the mysterious tail which is 
sometimes double, sometimes shaped like a sickle, and 
sometimes entirely destroyed. The comet of 1843 ap- 
proached the earth as near as 80,000 miles, moving with 
.a velocity twenty times the earth's, and exposed to a heat 
sufficient to melt any substance known to us. In 1680 
appeared the grandest of this family, with a tail sixty 
millions of miles long, a motion of twenty thousand miles 
& minute, and an exposure to heat twenty-five thousand 
times that of the hottest tropical sunshine. Bela's comet 
in 1832 came the nearest to striking the earth. Hallcy's 
has a period of seventy-six years, swelled seventeen days 
after its perihelion to seventy-four times its size, till it 
vanished entirely from sight. Donates was seen in the 
fall of 1858, but will not appear again for twenty-one 
hundred years. It is eighty times as far distant as Nep- 
tune, and has a tail thirty millions of miles long. The 
•comet of 1811 made the vast distance of forty-five billions 
of miles from the sun; others no doubt have gone beyond 
any possibility of return. 

Those groups of fixed stars, named constellations, have 
long been studied as well as admired. The most magni- 
ficent, Orion, with two stars of the first magnitude, four 
of the second and three of the third, was mentioned in the 
book of Job and the Iliad. Leo is also prominent because 
of its noted star Regulus. Vega and Ursa Major arc the 
most brilliant of the northern constellations. Venus, the 



36 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

brightest of the single stars, is well named after the 
goddess of beauty; Jupiter after the king of classical 
divinities; Saturn after the father of pagan gods. Sirius 
is the most splendid of all, though Aldebaran is not without 
a magnificence of his own. Twenty fixed stars have been 
counted of the first magnitude, sixty of the second and 
two hundred of the third order. Six orders of stars are 
visible to the naked eye, and ten additional ones by the 
help of a good telescope. Multitudes of stars like the 
magnificent Sirius are believed to be double, while thou- 
sands are creeping along at so slow a rate as not to average 
annually more than an eighteen-thousandth of the moon's 
diameter. 

Until a very late period no method had been Pound of 
measuring the distance of the sun-systems from us, though 
it was known to be immense. The largest base-line had 
to be adopted, which was the whole diameter of the earth's 
orbit, or one hundred and eighty-four millions of miles. 
By this measurement the double star 61 Cygni is ascer- 
tained to be three hundred thousand times one hundred 
and eighty-four millions of miles from us, an interval 
which it takes light nine years to travel. The prjle-statr 
system is five times as remote as this, or one million five 
hundred thousand times one hundred and eighty-four 
millions of miles, a journey of forty-six years for the tight. 

Calculations have been made of the relative amount of 
illumination from those distant suns in comparison with 
that from our own; and that of our sun has been estimated 
to be twenty-two thousand million times more than that 
from Alpha Centauri. But as that system is two hundred 



THE STARRY WORLDS. 37 

times farther away, it follows that if it was near us it 
would give twice the light of our sun. Vega affords a 
light equal to three hundred and forty-four of our suns; 
Capella four hundred and thirty; Arcturus five hundred 
and sixteen, and Alcyone twelve thousand times as much. 

In passing it may be observed that all the colors of the 
rainbow are presented in the distant stars and systems of 
stars — white, blue, green, red and yellow. There are 
about sixty of the blue systems. Alcyone (the brightest 
of the Pleiades) is found by the closest telescopic exami- 
nation to show fourteen conspicuous stars, its distance 
being twenty-five million diameters of the earth's orbit. 
Were this group blotted out their light would continue to 
visit us seven hundred years. 

Of all the cluster sj^stems, the most noticeable, the con- 
stellation Hercules, was discovered by Herschel, and esti- 
mated to be several hundred times more remote than the 
nearest fixed star, requiring, therefore, two thousand 
years for its light to visit us. An eminent German as- 
tronomer takes Alcyone for the center of the universe 
around which all the stars revolve in one vast system; 
and he estimates over eighteen millions of years for this 
luminary with all its attendant planets, satellites, and 
comets, to complete one revolution. 

Our solar system is tending towards Hercules on an 
orbit so immense that the portion described from the ear- 
liest observations does not sensibly differ from a straight 
line. And though, as before stated, Alcyone is believed 
to be the center of motion for our great astral system, 
and we are moving round it at more than thirty millions 



38 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

of miles in a year, on an orbit fifty million times larger 
than that on which we move about the sun, still we have 
to feel that a very small fraction of the heavens has yet 
been discovered. 

There is . reason to believe that unimagined discoveries 
will yet be made in our means of observation before this 
century ends, so as to illuminate the hidden depths of 
illimitable space. The region still unexplored it is im- 
agined may contain eighteen millions of suns, some of 
them so remote that light at the rate of 184,000 miles a 
second would take a million of years to reach our world. 

Many thousand such firmaments as are alluded to in the 
beginning of Genesis, are visible already, and every in- 
crease in telescopic power multiplies the number, so that 
we are utterly overwhelmed by the glory of God in the 
heavens. How sublime to contemplate all the bodies in 
infinite space going their rounds without any pause, con- 
fusion, or collision, as if suspended in infinite air, moving 
on apparently irregular orbits, weaving the mystic dance 
reaching through eternities of eternities. 

Who can believe now in anything like a death-haunted 
region, sunken in absolute silence, buried ocean-deep in 
corruption ? Beyond the range of our imagination even, 
we find ourselves surrounded with light and motion. An 
instinct within us testifies to an irresistible impulse on- 
ward. So that we cannot, without utter falsity to our 
own souls, help believing that the revelations of the fu- 
ture are all to be of infinite goodness as well as wisdom, 
arching over illimitable worlds through endless ages. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 39 



CHAPTER III. 

CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 

WERE we able to go back in regard to the ancient life 
of the earth through dark vistas of ages to the 
time it was a fused mass, that date might, with some pro- 
priety, be called the beginning of life. But we cannot 
suppose that was the great beginning of all. The fused 
state might be long posterior to the time when matter 
was agglomerated sufficiently for fusion. The most la- 
bored calculation would fail to fix a date for stages so far 
back. There are laws inherent in matter which must be 
obeyed. These laws are known to some extent, but not 
fully ; many are not yet understood. But, a starting 
point is what thousands are anxious to get. We go back 
to nebulae, and think that a long stretch ; but matter, we 
are sure, had far earlier forms and conditions of being. 
Long, long ages before nebulae existed, was the period of 
fire-mist, a universally diffused mass in which the com- 
ponent molecules kept apart through the efficiency of 
heat. Had this power continued to act with its original 
repulsive energy, the process of agglomeration by at- 
traction would never have gone on. As to this primitive 
action of matter, much is of necessity pure conjecture, 



40 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

though the true theory has no doubt been long- since ap- 
proached. 

We are not sufficiently acquainted with nebulous matter 
to say exactly how it is formed. But when formed, we 
can easily tell why by virtue of attraction and gravitation 
the neighboring matter should be aggregated around the 
nuclei. It may fairly be inferred that the agglomeration 
of a nebulous mass is attended with refrigeration, and we 
understand why the outer parts harden under this process, 
and by virtue of the solidity they acquire present some 
resistance to the attractive force, which resistance would 
necessarily go on increasing. 

When bodies once become agglomerated, they attract 
and are attracted, until a certain stage of solidification is 
reached, similar to what we witness in our present earth ; 
then aggregation is presumed to cease, but not attraction. 
Centripetal and centrifugal forces never cease to act in 
any body known to us. When we see in our astral sys- 
tem many thousand worlds, in all stages of promotion, we 
naturally conclude that all the perfect ones have gone 
through the various rudimental stages. We are led to 
think, therefore, that the whole of our firmament was once 
a diffused mass of nebulous matter, extending through 
the space it still occupies. And in like manner of other 
astral systems, we naturally conclude that they were, like 
ours, a connected mass. We are strongly impressed with 
the idea that the formation of bodies in space is still 
going on, and will go on forever 

There are other solar systems within our astral system 
which are less advanced than ours ; besides quantities of 



CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 41 

nebulous matter far as yet from assuming a stellar form. 
Our system is deemed to be in comparative youth. Nat- 
urally we are led to consider our globe as a child of the 
sun, and the other planets as our brothers. 

All that we can see is the effect of certain laws of mat- 
ter ; hence our great desire to understand those laws. 
We see certain events happening in precise and unerring 
order, and this order we call " laws." 

All these considerations tend to raise our ideas with re- 
spect to the character of physical laws, even if we go no 
farther in the investigation. But it is impossible for an 
intelligent mind to stop here. We advance from law to 
the cause of law, and ask : Whence have come all these 
beautiful regulations ? 

Matter is well ascertained to be composed of infinitely 
minute particles, each of which is so constituted as readily 
to associate with certain other atoms ; and this adhesion 
goes on, until bodies are formed of all the various magni- 
tudes. This arrangement holds good with all bodies in 
space ; the laws under which they every where combine 
are the same ; and (when rightly understood) the mys- 
tery of our earth's formation is no more a wonder than 
such an every day thing as the growth of a plant. 

Th» mass of the earth, before solidification began, was 
not less than 482,000 miles in diameter, or sixty times 
what it is now. As to the time intervening between the 
formation of the moon, when the earth was of such enor- 
mous dimensions, to the present, we arc only left to con- 
jecture. Like other periods in astronomy, the mind en- 
tirely fails to grasp it. 



42 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Our planetary system, all eminent writers agree, com- 
menced as an immense nebulous mass, which tilled the 
portion of space now occupied by our system far beyond 
the limits of Neptune, our most distant planet. If we 
calculate the density of the mass of our planetary system 
at the time when it was a nebulous sphere reaching to the 
outmost planet, we shall find that it requires several cubic 
miles of such matter to weigh a single grain. 

At that time the mechanical store of force, in heat and 
light, was enormous. It is calculated that about the 
454th part of that mechanical force remains as such, and 
that the remainder converted into heat would be sufficient 
to raise a mass of matter equal to the sun and planets 
taken together not less than twenty-eight million degrees 
of the centigrade scale. It may be well to say that the 
highest temperature we can produce, sufficient indeed to 
fuse and vaporize platina, is estimated at two thousand 
centigrade degrees. 

We can form no notion of a temperature of twenty- 
eight million such degrees of heat. A mass of pure coal 
in combustion of the size of our entire system would only 
generate a 3500th part of this quantity. Should a sudden 
shock cause the earth to rest in its orbit, a quantity of 
heat would be generated equal to that produced by a body 
of coalin combustion fourteen times as large. If the earth 
(after having been stopped in its orbit) should fall into 
the sun, as it naturally would, the quantity of heat produc- 
ed by the shock would be fourteen hundred times greater. 

Our earth bears at this time unmistakable evidence of 
its former fiery fluid condition. The granite formation of 



CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 43 

her mountains could only be produced by crystallization — 
crystallization by heat. We also find the temperature to 
increase as we descend from the surface, which at the 
depth of fifty, or as some estimate, seventy-five miles, 
would be sufficient to fuse any mineral substance. We 
talk about what has happened during the brief period of 
human history, only a few thousand years ; but, what is 
it in comparison with the time during* which the earth had 
nothing upon its surface save rank plants and monstrous 
lizards ? Different geologists have endeavored by various 
calculations to estimate this vast period ; and they vary 
from one million to nine millions of years. Again, the 
time during which the earth generated organic beings is 
small indeed compared with the ages during which the 
earth was a ball of melted rocks. 

No doubt exists as to the earth's being in this fused 
state, or that it attained a heat of 2000° centigrade, from 
which it has cooled to about 200°; or that the time 
required for this would be myriads of years. As to the 
period during which the first nebulous mass condensed into 
our planetary system, our most daring conjectures utterly 
fail. Thus we perceive that the history of the earth is 
but a small ripple in the ocean of time. Great disturb- 
ances in our system are not to be expected for a long 
series of years ; but, the same forces of air and water, 
with the volcanic eruptions from the interior, which pro- 
duced former geological revolutions and buried one series 
of living forms after another, act still upon the earth's 
crust. Surely, therefore, they will bring about the last 
day of the human race upon earth, and make room for 



44 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

some new creation. In this way we are introduced to a 
universal law of nature, which radiates light into the dis- 
tant nights of the beginning, and on to the end of the 
history of the universe. Each of us now living must en- 
dure the thought of death, and the race itself must sub- 
mit to the same humiliating experience. 

But, above the forms gone by, there are higher and 
nobler problems before us. Friction of the tides pro- 
duces loss of motion by diminishing the store of force, 
and in consequence motion is diminished. This altera- 
tion takes place with extreme slowness, so that, in a 
period of 2000 years the days' duration has not been shor- 
tened by the 300th part of a second. 

After millions of years, if in the mean time the ocean 
was not frozen, one side of the earth would be constantly 
turned toward the sun, while the opposite side would be 
involved in eternal night. Such conclusions plunge us 
into the most distant future ; yet though frequently baf- 
fled, we cannot but try to penetrate the deepest night of 
time past and to come. The immense store of force in 
our planetary system will in time be exhausted. Laplace 
says : " For 2500 years the earth's radius has not dimin- 
ished half a decimetre, or the temperature decreased one 
four-hundredths of a degree." The lapse of such countless 
ages is required to effect any marked change in this re- 
spect, that our broadest conception of time fails to mark it. 

The interior of the globe has been inspected and a tole- 
rably distinct notion of its general arrangement reached. 
The basis-rock is of a hard texture, and of the class called 
crystalline. Granite may be named as the general type, 



CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 45 

though it runs through many varieties. Over this in many 
places other rocks are disposed in strata, with every ap- 
pearance of having been deposited originally from water, 
and but seldom allowed to rest in their original arrange- 
ment. Disturbing forces from below have broken these 
beds of sheet into great masses, and in many cases parts 
have been projected through the rents of rocky matter, 
more or less resembling the great crystalline mass. This 
crystalline rock when thus projected must have been in a 
state of fusion, for it has often run into lateral chinks in 
these rents. There are instances of sub-rents, and of 
newer melted matter of the same character being sent 
through the opening. Thus in the crust of our earth there 
is first a great inferior mass composed of crystalline rock, 
probably resting immediately on the fused and expanded 
matter of the interior; next a layer or strata of aqueous 
origin; next irregular masses of melted inferior rocks, 
that have been sent up volcanically and were fused at 
different times among the aqueous rocks, throwing them 
cut of their original levels. Such is a brief outline of the 
arrangement of the earth's crust; seemingly rather a 
confused scene, though thorough inspection enables us to 
detect regularity and order, and derive much instruction 
£ts to the history of our globe. The deposition of the 
aqueous rocks, and the projection of the volcanic, have no 
doubt taken place since the earth attained its present 
form. The same order of events we see going on, under 
the agency of causes we understand in part, at the present 
day. They may therefore be considered as recent trans- 
actions. Abstracted from the investigations before us, we 



46 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

come to the idea of the earth in its first condition as a- 
globe of its present size, and in a great degree a mass of 
crystalline rock, with the waters of the present seas and 
the present atmosphere around it, though these were prob- 
ably in a somewhat different condition, both as to temper- 
ature and constituent materials from the present. 

We are to consider that the great bulk of our earth's ' 
solids were agglomerated directly from the nebulous state, . 
with the crystalline texture which we see in granite.. 
Such rock is composed of four substances — silica, mica, 
quartz and hornblende — associated in it in the form of" 
grains or crystals, each of them composed of a group 
of the simple or elementary substances. We are not to 
think of the original crystalline mass composing the 
earth as a smooth ball, with water and air playing round 
it; vast irregularities existed on its surface, trifling 
compared with the whole bulk, but far beyond any in 
existence now. Seas were sunk to a profound depth, once 
perhaps overtopping the mountains. The fact is well 
known that the solids of our globe cannot for a moment 
be exposed to water or the atmosphere without becoming 
liable to change; they at once begin to wear down. This 
operation proceeded with as much efficacy in the early 
ages of the earth's history as it does now, and upon a, 
much larger scale. Seas are presumed to have reached 
the depth of at least one hundred miles — if not hundreds 
of miles — witli mountains correspondingly high. The 
disintegration under such circumstances must have been 
truly enormous. The matter worn off and carried into, 
the neighboring depths became the components of the 



CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. ^[ 

earliest stratified rocks; the first series of which is the 
gneiss and mica-slate system, appearing in Scotland and 
the west of England. These beds are of vast thickness; 
the Pennsylvania graywacke sometimes extends a hundred 
miles. All such earlier strata were formed under an intenser 
heat than operated in subsequent stages. When these de- 
posits were formed, the seas must have been in a troubled 
state, like a cauldron of water nearly at boiling heat, im- 
mensely increasing their decomposing power. 

The early stratified rocks contain no matters not to be 
found in the primitive granite. Though not taken from a 
very late work, the following classification of rock-forma- 
tions in the crust of the earth, commencing with the lowest 
in order, and of the organic remains found in each series, 
may be of practical interest: 

1. Gneiss and Mica-slate, with no vestige of organic 
remains. 

2. Clay-slate and Graywacke, containing organic remains 
of Zoophytes. 

3. Silurian formation, in which are double-shelled mol- 
lusks. 

4. Old Red Sandstone, containing crustaceous fishes. 

5. Carboniferous period, in whose rocks are found re- 
mains of real fishes. 

6. New Red Sandstone, with organic remains of croco- 
diles, tortoises and other low orders of fishes. 

7. Oolite. In this is found the remains of birds. 

8. Cretaceous formation. The same as 

9. Lower Eocene. In this series of rock various organic 
remains have been found — tapirs, horses, squirrels, rac- 
coons and opossums. 



48 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

10. Miocene, with remains of bears, seals, &c. 

11. Pliocene. In this are found more extensive varieties 
of animals; here too are the first traces of Bimana or man. 

12. Superficial deposits are considered as the last and 
most interesting of all the orders, and are so far subject 
to our inspection that we are able to gain a pretty correct 
knowledge of them. 

In a late work by Dr. George Hartwig, it is stated that 
the surface of the earth has been the scene of perpetual 
changes, from a time too remote for our conception, by the 
resulting action of two mighty agents — water and subter- 
ranean heat. The breakers of a turbulent ocean, tides 
and currents, torrents and rivers, the power of ice, and 
the grinding force of glaciers have been constantly wear- 
ing away the coasts and mountains, and transporting the 
spoils of continents and islands from a higher to a lower 
level. In a period of only three or four thousand years 
great changes have been effected by this means; but, when 
we consider that the work has been going on for countless 
ages, we cannot wonder at the enormous thickness of the 
stratified rocks of aqueous origin which — piled on one 
another in successive layers — make up the great mass of 
the earth's rind. Our knowledge of these sedimentary 
formations is necessarily incomplete, as large portions of 
the globe have never yet been sufficiently explored ; enough, 
however, has been learnt to warrant classification into the 
following chronological groups, going down below the 
surface into the depths: 

Alluvium Reigm of Man. 

Diluvium or Drift. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 49 

Pliocene, ) Reign of Mammalia. 

Miocene, f Tertiary- 

Eocene, J 

Cretaceous, ] Eeign of Reptiles. 

Oolitic, ! n 

T . ' y Secondary. 

Lias, I 

Triassic, J 

Pormian, ] Reign of Fishes. 

Carboniferous, Reign of Zoophytes. 

Devonian, ^ 

c,., . ' y Primary. 

bilunan, 

Cambrian, 

Laurentian, 

As nine thousand years are assigned to the Lower 
Silurian, and proportional periods to the others, a vast 
body of time must have been consumed in completing the 
whole series. Had the leveling power of water met with 
no resistance, the last remains of dry land would have 
long since been swept away, had the ocean been capacious 
enough to receive it. Volcanic eruptions react against 
these leveling tendencies of water, and in many places 
raise horizontal layers at the bottom of the sea. Some- 
times huge masses of crystalline rock, glowing from the 
furnaces below, force their way up through the sedimentary 
formations. Besides the more violent revolutions resulting 
from the action of subterranean fires, we find that the 
earth's rind has at all times been subject to slow, oscilla- 
tory motions, producing a change in former positions and 
opening paths that were entirely new to the rolling waves. 

Sometimes volcanic eruptions repeated through long 
ages have at length piled up large islands like Madeira, 
which now raise their summits thousands of feet above 
the ocean. Subterranean fire and steam have produced 



50 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

immense mechanical changes. In rocks subject to their 
action, the decomposing and vapor-generating effects of 
heat cause great chemical changes. The greater part of 
dry land has been deep sea, and then again land and ocean, 
many times in succession. The same materials have been 
exposed to all these changes repeatedly; now heaved up 
by subterranean fires, and then again swept away by 
rolling seas; now changed from solid rock into sand and 
mud, and then again converted by pressure or heat into 
solid rock. Thus, Mr. Hartwig continues, the history of 
the earth-rind opens to us a vista into time no less grand 
and magnificent than the vista into space afforded by the 
contemplation of the starry heavens. 

The oldest and newest stratified rocks are composed of 
the same mineral substances ; for clay, sandstone and lime- 
stone occur in the Silurian and Carboniferous formations ; 
in the Cretaceous and Triassic systems; in the Tertiary 
and Alluvial deposits which immediately preceded the 
present epoch. Whence, it may be asked, comes the guide 
which will lead us chronologically through the vast series 
of strata deposited in the course of countless ages in the 
water ? The fossil remains of animals and plants, it may 
be answered, will guide our steps with sufficient certainty. 
Many of the organic forms have changed their location in 
part, so that the tropical organizations gradual^ pass into 
the temperate zones, and these again merge into those of 
the polar regions. A shell or a leaf, buried millions of 
years in the drift of the primeval ocean, now serves as a 
waymark through the past epochs of the earth's history. 

The atmosphere contains about a two-thousandth part of 



CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH. 51 

carbonic acid gas, which enters into the composition of 
each year's stock of grain and herbage, then passes on 
into the substance of animals, and is again rendered back 
to the atmosphere in their expired breath, so that the 
amount is never impaired. When therefore we hear of 
carbon beginning to appear in the ascending series of 
rocks, we may fairly consider that as a time of some im- 
portance in the earth's history. Existing largely in the 
interior of the earth, every cubic yard of limestone is 
estimated to contain many cubic feet of carbon. Coal 
itself contains from 64 to 75 per cent of carbon. A large 
portion must at one time have been in the atmosphere; if 
so, at that time the earth was not capable of supporting 
life in land animals. Such an atmosphere would however 
produce luxuriant vegetation — plants flourishing in air 
containing 166 times more carbon than our atmosphere at 
. the present time. 



52 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

AGES BEFORE ADAM. 

"VTEVER shall we begin to know what time elapsed: 
JLl between the first crude condition of this earth and 
the appearance of rankest plants on its surface; or, be- 
tween the latter period and the earliest animal life; or ; . 
from that to the earliest existence of man; but each period 
was a very long one. Adam was no doubt a great proto- 
plast; and there must have been others, for it is quite- 
certain all human beings did not come from one progenitor. 
Evidences of man's existence on the earth many ages 
before Adam, are derivable from written and monumental 
history. From Egypt alone we learn much of human life- 
before Adam. 

In the late work of Dr. McCausland, we have it stated 
that proof enough may be derived from archaeological, 
philological and physiological researches to show that 
three distinct races of men have been in existence from 
the earliest antiquity. Other writers of note express- 
themselves without reserve on this subject, in marked 
contrast with those who never look beyond old theories or 
wake themselves up to see the progress science is making. 
On every hand there are convincing facts. Sedimentary- 



AGES BEFORE ADAM. 53 

deposits on the delta of the Nile may be estimated as 
having been made at the rate of three to three and a half 
inches to the one hundred years. Numerous borings have 
been made on this delta, even to the depth of fifty-nine 
feet, bringing up from the lowest point various specimens 
of pottery and burnt brick. In one of these borings the 
statue of Rameses Second was discovered, the base of 
which was nine feet four inches below the surface. This 
was in the year 1855. Rameses Second is supposed to 
have been the great Sesostris, who lived, according to 
Egyptological authority, not less than 1350 years B. C. 

The boring was continued thirty-two feet below the 
base of this statue, and specimens of pottery found (as in 
other cases), which must have been made more than 
13,500 years ago. Leonard Horner maintains that pot- 
tery was made in Egypt at least 11,000 years before 
Christ. Lepsius and other learned writers agree that the 
floor of the Nile delta cannot have increased more than 
three and a half inches in each century ; and, allowing for 
the superincumbent pressure, three inches are nearer the 
true quantity. The date of Rameses' reign may be safely 
fixed as early as 1350 B. C. Baron Bunsen is of the 
opinion that the arts were cultivated in Egypt 20,000 
years B. C. In widely distant places ruins exist which, 
while our civilization tells only of to-day, prove there was 
a civilization running far enough back to distance all cal- 
culation. For countless ages the same God that we wor- 
ship was adored by the ancient Egyptians, Chaldeans and 
Babylonians : — known by another name and under another 
form, but with the same worship, even if in temples partly 

•ft 



54 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

dedicated to idols. The idea of a Supreme God existed 
then as well as now. Travelers should tread lightly in 
passing over old ruins. Are they not the graves of dead 
nations who once occupied the earth in full vitality — un- 
derstood possibly more of some arts than we do, and en- 
joyed a high civilization ? Menes and his throne at Mem- 
phis may constitute one of the last mile-stones on a road 
so extended that the farther end is hidden in the night- 
time of the world. To say that we have no history upon 
which to rely except the Bible — with all due respect to 
that book — is either gross ignorance or sheer hypocrisy. 
Historians of the highest order find undoubted proofs that 
Egypt was the abode of civilized man thousands of years 
before the Adamite period. Names of kings, composing 
the different dynasties from Menes to Alexander, are well 
known ; and the time each reigned, amounting in the ag- 
gregate to about six thousand years. It is therefore 
plain, if Adam lived in Mesopotamia 6000 years ago, and 
Menes in Egypt at the same time, that the Egyptian ruler 
was not born from the Father of the Semitic race. Nor is it 
possible that Memphis and other large cities were founded 
by the posterity of Adam. If Adam had preceded 
Menes, was it possible that the fine arts would have been, 
developed as they were in that city, and architecture 
carried to such a state of perfection? Menes and his 
people were not autocthonic where we find them, but 
came from a place known as This, above where Karnac 
now stands, from which they descended the Nile to found 
a new city and empire. 

The priests of Memphis, who are certainly to be relied 



AGES BEFORE ADAM. 55 

on, told Herodotus that Menes, who founded the new- 
Egyptian empire, began his reign 11,340 years before the 
last king of the 23d Memphite dynasty ; and this true his- 
tory of his is confirmed pretty fully by Manetho and Bun- 
sen, The Dabistan, and other Persian books, tell us that 
time has ever been marked by successive cycles, each of 
which produces its intelligent beings who die when the 
cycle ends, with the exception of a single pair, who be- 
come mysteriously changed and give birth to the progeni- 
tors of a new cycle. 

The oldest mythologies we find reach not near the 
starting place. Whether we take the Chinese annals, 
(extending back twelve thousand years) or those of Ma- 
netho and Herodotus, they are but as yesterday in reach- 
ing the oldest past. 

The name Adam signifies individual, also redness, or 
red men. When we read in the book of Genesis, that 
Adam began to multiply, it seems that his particular 
branch of the human species is alluded to ; and the infer- 
ence is natural that other branches had already increased. 
The Bible account also says there were giants in those 
da}^s — evidently not Adamites. The sons of God, we are 
told, saw that the daughters of men were fair ; and they 
took to themselves wives, who bare children ; and they 
became mighty men and men of renown. 

If there were none on the earth but Adamites, how 
could Cain get a wife in the land of Nod, so far eastward 
from Eden as to be out of the presence of the Lord? 
Cain did not marry his sister, for she would not have been 
in the land of Nod ; nor is (here any intimation given of 



56 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Adam's having a daughter. Who was there to kill Cain, 
if no other race existed but Adam's ? Should we admit 
that Cain had sisters, he would not have feared their 
taking his life. 

The first pyramid was built, according to the best au- 
thority, 200 years after Menes came to lower Egypt ; and 
one of the tombs at Thebes is ascribed to the butler of a 
king then upon the throne. On the walls of this tomb 
are pictures of cabinet-makers, boat-builders, sail-makers 
and glass-blowers ; implying also the existence of many 
other trades, and a considerable civilization. A man is 
represented as killing a cow, and sharpening a bronze 
knife on a steel rod, while an iron pot of three legs is 
boiling over the fire. There are no iron or copper mines 
on the banks of the Nile ; whence then these steel tools, 
planes, saws, needles, looms and so on ? All must have 
been brought from a distance. Mines were abundant in 
the Sinaitic wilderness, in the days of pyramid-building, 
if not before. These implements might have been brought 
from Damascus ; but, this would not be the case unless 
other places were inhabited as well as Egypt, and by 
people far from the savage. The farther examinations 
are pushed, the more convincing is the antiquity of man. 
The earliest date of the famous cities of olden time is not 
known, and never will be. There are no authentic rec- 
ords either of their beginning or their end. But evi- 
dence has been presented to show that the race of Adam 
is probably the youngest branch — the last off-shoot of 
other and older races. 

One of the best among the late works which are being 



AGES BEFORE ADAM. 57 

issued to enlighten the public, is John D. Baldwin's " Pre- 
historic Nations." In his introductory he says that the 
cyclical schemes of the ancient world, of computing by 
tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of years 
the existence of man upon the earth previous to the regu- 
lar beginning of history, are quite as scientific and relia- 
ble as Archbishop Usher's system of chronology. The 
antiquity of man has been underrated, as may be clearly 
shown by geology and the science of language. Con- 
scientious geologists are forced to say that the day of 
man's first appearance on the earth must be carried im- 
mensely farther back than Usher's date. False chronolo- 
gies are being laid aside, and room made in the past for 
those great pre-historic ages of human activity, which are 
indicated by the oldest monuments, records, and mytholo- 
gies. The study of these records, in which the ancients 
speak of what to them was misty antiquity, oblige us to 
enlarge the past beyond the limits of any modern scheme 
of chronology. 

The oldest writings in existence are the inscriptions 
found in the ancient ruins of Egypt and south-western 
Asia. The oldest books (leaving out those of China), 
are those preserved by the Indian and Iranian branches 
of the Aryan family — the Rig-Veda, a translated frag- 
ment of the Desatir, and portions of the works of Zoroas- 
ter ; next to these come the Hebrew scriptures; then 
follow the works of Homer and some other books and 
fragments of books in Greek, representing the culture of 
the Ionian 8 of Asia Minor. These books make us famil- 
iar with the civilization of the communities in which they 



58 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

sprang- up. The mythologies, the ruins, the discovery of 
linguistic science and the general voice of tradition lead 
to the conclusion that (so far as relates to the Cushite, 
Semite and Aryan races,) their first appearance was 
somewhere in the south-western part of Asia ; but we 
cannot describe the agencies nor give the date of the 
first development. We never find uninterrupted advance- 
ment of any nation or community of races, but a constant 
advance from lower toward higher degrees of civilization. 
Nations rise, flourish, and afterwards sink into obscurity. 
The Egypt of to-day is not what we see in the monu- 
ments of its old monarchy. Chaldea is not now the an- 
cient Chaldea which we study in its ruins ; we inquire in 
vain on the coasts of Asia Minor for that Ionian confed- 
eracy, whose marvelous culture passing over into, the 
Hellenic peninsula illumined Athens and made that city 
the glory of Hellas. Still the march of civilization, not- 
withstanding all the interruptions which have delayed it 
for ages, has been onward. What seems to be the ob- 
scurest antiquity becomes extremely modern when con- 
sidered in connection with what geology says of the an- 
tiquity of man. Those familiar with the later discover- 
ies in this science, know how slowly and with what resis- 
tance geologists themselves have been brought to admit 
the evidence of the existence of the human race in the 
latter part of the geological period, named by Lyell and 
others as Past-Pliocene. 

This period, which next precedes that in which we live, 
seems as yesterdaj 7 in relation to the countless geological 
ages that went before ; but some tentative efforts at com- 



AGES BEFORE ADAM. 59 

putation make us feel how far away it is from yesterday. 
Sir Charles LyelPs lowest estimate of the time required 
to form the present delta of the Mississippi is more than 
100,000 years ; and yet it belongs almost wholly to the 
recent period. The lower portion of the peninsula of 
Florida has been created by a constant growth of coral 
reefs which is still going on. Agassiz has estimated the 
average rate of this growth, and calculates it filled a pe- 
riod of not less than 135,000 years. The same period has 
been computed for the time in which the falls at Niagara 
have been working up to their present position. Wes- 
tern Europe has its ancient ruins that claim consideration, 
but it has nothing to equal the old ruins of Egypt, 
though showing the remains of civilized people unknown 
in history. China claims to have reliable records nineteen 
centuries older than the Christian era. The traditions of 
the Hebrews, which Moses saw fit to record as worth a 
place in the sacred books of his nation, relate almost en- 
tirely to the Semitic, Cushitic and Aryan families. The 
earliest Hebrew traditions are to be traced back long be- 
fore Abraham. The study of the traditions, mythologies, 
fragmentary records, mouldering monuments and other 
remains of pre-historic ages, enables any one to see that 
the people described in the Hebrew scriptures as Cushites 
were the original civil izers of south-western Asia, and 
that their influence may be traced in the deepest antiquity 
in the extreme west of the old world. Rollin says that 
the Assyrian empire was in its full career of greatness 
2234 years before Christ, or about 115 years after the 
deluge. The Hebrew scriptures say that Noah lived 350 



60 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

years after the flood ; and of course outlived the founders 
of that empire, and saw it flourish for more than 200 
years. The origin of almost everything' in regard to the 
earliest civilization is lost in the obscurity of ages that 
go back of the oldest historic period. This is true of all 
the most common arts of life as well as the sciences. 

Mr. Baldwin says the researches in Egypt give dates 
as authentic as the monuments themselves, which con- 
found the current chronologies, and make it plain that 
Egypt existed not less than 5,000 years B. C. Monumen- 
tal and sepulchral inscriptions abundantly confirm this, 
which is also attested by the powerful authority of Mane- 
tho. He was an Egyptian of great learning, and wrote 
with the monuments and libraries of Egypt before him — 
his dates are as authentic as those of any other historian. 
But, at every step we take in our progress in this investi- 
gation or any other, we encounter that same blind preju- 
dice which endeavored to set at nought the discoveries of 
Galileo. This history of Manetho has perplexed the dog- 
matists. How can they allow that Menes, who first united 
all Egypt under one government, began his reign not less 
than 3893 years B. C. ? English scholars, man}' of them 
well versed in Egyptian history, could not deny these 
facts, and for a while sought to reconcile them with the 
current chronology : finding this impossible, they silently 
confess that they can not solve the problem satisfactorily. 
The evidence of these pre-historic times is so full and con- 
vincing, that an eminent archaeologist was led to exclaim 
that it was well calculated to awaken grave apprehen- 
sions as to the old theory of Adam's being the first man, 



AGES BEFORE ADAM. 61 

or that Bishop Usher could be depended on ; and he ex- 
claimed : " What can we do against the concurring- testi- 
mony of Manetho, Eratosthenes, the Turin papyrus, and 
the Egyptian tablets of Abydos, Thebes, and Sakkara ?" 

Glacial epochs, so well understood of late, form an in- 
teresting subject for consideration in this chapter. All 
planets in their orbits describe an ellipse ; therefore the 
earth is about three million miles nearer the sun at one 
time than another ; and, what may seem strange, is near- 
er the sun in the winter than in the summer, though it 
has not always been so. For the whole ellipse turns 
round, going forward in the same direction as the earth, 
over eleven seconds in a year; and, at the same time, the 
equinox points (on which the times of all the seasons de- 
pend,) go backward at the rate of fifty seconds a year, 
or completely round in twenty-six thousand years. And 
as one goes one way and the other the other, it is the 
same as if the places of perihelion and aphelion went for- 
ward at the rate of sixty-one seconds a year, or complete- 
ly round in about twenty-one thousand years relatively to 
the equinoxes from which all celestial measures are taken. 
From the above rate of advances of the perihelion it will 
be seen that the earth was nearest the sun in summer, 
and farthest off in the winter of the northern hemisphere, 
about 3,600 years before the creation of Adam. Then it 
was hotter in summer and colder in winter by twenty- 
three degrees ; and the eccentricity of the earth's orbit 
was formerly much greater than at present. Whenever 
in that long period of great eccentricity, from 80,000 to 
300,000 B. C, the earth was at aphelion, the northern 



62 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

winter was much colder than it is now. Our average win- 
ter temperature is thirty-nine degrees. But this is only 
thirty-nine degrees above an arbitrary zero, which is of 
no use in measuring the power of the sun. We must 
reckon from the absolute zero, or the heat of no sun at 
all, which is four hundred and ninety degrees below our 
zero ; so that our winter-heat is really five hundred and 
twenty-nine degrees on the absolute scale, or so much 
above what it would be if there were no sun. Now, as 
the aphelion revolves relatively to the equinoxes in 21,000 
years, there must have been ten of these northern winters 
in aphelion during the period of great eccentricity : not 
all so intense as the one 210,000 years ago, but all far be- 
yond our present cold, and of course still colder nearer the 
pole. Every such time was a glacial epoch, as it is called, 
when all Europe was covered with ice which the heat of 
summer had not time to melt ; being also obstructed by 
the evaporation from the melting snow, which slid down 
the valleys like the glaciers in the Alps. The weight of 
that ice is thought to have been sufficient to shift the 
center of gravity of the earth, and keep down most of 
the land of the northern hemisphere below the level of 
the sea, as geologists say it has been. These glacial 
epochs, occurring at such extremely long intervals, are 
the strongest possible proofs that the earth was not only 
suited to the production of animal and vegetable life long 
before the time assigned for the creation of Adam, but they 
tell us plainly that man did exist on the earth thousands 
of centuries before the time of Adam. 

Mr. Lyell estimates that the delta of. the Mississippi 



AGES BEFORE ADAM. 63 

covers an area of thirty thousand square miles, and in 
some places is several hundred feet deep, and all composed 
of sedimentary matter. The time required for the river 
to bring down this immense amount of earth has been 
spoken of already as tens of thousands of years. The 
same author, in speaking of the boulder formation and the 
drift as connected with the glacial epoch, says the drift 
is made up of fragments brought from a distance after 
being frozen into a moving mass; and this in its passage 
over the subjacent rock has made long rectilinear furrows 
parallel to each other. The action of this drift has been 
unceasing as far back as observation goes, through un- 
known ages. The changes effected by it have been great, 
though again we must say the time is entirely beyond our 
comprehension. 

In 1822, in latitude sixty-nine degrees, icebergs were 
seen two hundred feet high, estimated to weigh 1 00,000 
tons. These bergs move with great force and steadiness, 
and while they show so great a height above water, their 
bulk is very much greater below. They have been ob- 
served from two to five miles in length, and in one case 
thirteen miles, and from one hundred to two hundred and 
twenty-five feet above water. Such immense islands of 
ice would as a natural consequence contain at their base 
more or less of earth or rock or both, and move with a 
force and power in the water that must severely affect 
subjacent rocks or earthy substances less solid. In many 
instances islands may have been formed by the resistance 
of loose earth which these bergs encounter. When a 
lodgment occurred in this way — though not so very con- 



64 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

siderable at first — the action of a constant current would 
increase the accumulation and in time extend over a large 
surface. Immense blocks have been carried hundreds, 
probably thousands of miles by these floating bodies, and 
dropped in a great many localities, and are known generally 
as boulders. The portions of rock brought from a distance 
in this manner — sometimes oblong in shape — are called 
"erratics;" they are found in Scotland at elevations of 
3,000 to 4,000 feet, and but little doubt remains as to their 
being transported on ice rafts. Mr. Lyell in his account 
of Canada and the United States, published in 1845, says 
he came to the conclusion that, in explaining the position 
of the erratics and polished surfaces of rocks and their 
flutings, we must assume first a gradual submergence of 
the land in North America, after it had acquired its present 
outline of hill and valley, cliff and ravine; and then its 
re-emergence from the ocean. This accounts for the fact 
that almost everywhere in North America and northern 
Europe the boulder formation rests on a polished and fur- 
rowed surface of rock. During the successive depressions 
of land, varying originally in height from 1,000 to 3,000 
feet above the sea-level, every portion of the surface would 
be brought down by turns to the level of the ocean, so as 
to be converted first into a coast line, and then into a shoal; 
and at length — after being well scored by the stranding 
upon it year after year of great masses of coast ice — 
might be sunk to a depth of several hundred fathoms. 
If the cold of the great glacial epoch came on slowly — 
was long before it reached its greatest intensity — and 
again abated gradually, the earlist and latest drift will be 



AGES BEFORE ADAM. 65 

less barren of organic remains than that deposited during 
the coldest period. The mastodon is thought to have been 
very abundant after the drift. Quite a number of the 
skeletons of this animal were found in different localities 
in the fore part of this century. 



66 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES. 

THIS chapter is only designed for general observations 
about particular parts of the " old testimony." Omit- 
ting all before the days of Moses, we begin with the time 
he appears prominently before the world after the thorough 
education given him under the direction of the daughter 
of Pharaoh. The scripture narrative makes no mention 
about Moses as a military commander in the service of 
Pharaoh; but Josephus gives many particulars of that 
nature. It seems the Ethiopians troubled the Egyptians 
and treated them with such severity that Moses was called 
into service to save the Egyptians from utter subjection. 
Moses prevailed over them and pursued on to the city of 
Saba, afterwards called Meroe. The daughter of the 
Ethiopian king seeing Moses near the wall, and hearing 
of his valor, fell in love with him, and agreed to yield the 
city without bloodshed if he would take her as his wife. 
Moses promised with an oath to do so, and the capitulation 
was made. Moses kept his vow and married her. Jose- 
phus says the Egyptians were on account of his great 
popularity fearful of harm in some way at his hands, and 
desired to have him slain; on which account he fled to 



THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES. 67 

Midian and married, the daughter of Jethro. Nothing is 
-said by Josephus as to the disposition made of the' Ethio- 
pian wife. The scriptures say Moses fled from Egypt 
because he had slain one of Pharaoh's subjects, for which 
the king was about to take his life; and that he married in 
Midian as before stated, and spent several years in that 
^neighborhood, where he subsequently encamped with the 
Israelitish host in their flight from Egypt. His time was 
^mostly devoted to tending his father-in-law's flocks, without 
■ omitting in the meantime to gain all the information in his 
?power. Wild and romantic scenery engenders lofty 
thoughts. Nor can we think a priest like Jethro was 
poorly educated, or destitute of such books as were to be 
had at that time. There is no reason to suppose that very 
many manuscripts existed among the Hebrews, or that 
records had been commenced by Moses until after his 
journey from Midian back to Egypt to deliver his people, 
and his return to Midian again. Nor are we at liberty to 
suppose Moses was so shut out from the surrounding world 
as to be ignorant of what events were happening while 
he led a shepherd's life. If we deny entirely, as many do, 
that the burning bush talked to Moses, we have reason to 
suppose he heard often from Egypt, and understood the 
situation of his people there. After performing the won- 
ders we are told he did to induce Pharaoh to let them go, 
and Israel had reached the banks of the Red Sea, then came 
the crowning operation of dividing the waters so that all 
passed over the ground where they had been, when the 
wind that drove the waves aside swept them back again to 
.swallow up Pharaoh the moment he was in their bed. The 



68 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Hebrews were all safely on the other side looking back to 
see their pursuers perish. Farther pursuit was out of the 
question. Well might they sing and rejoice, for they had 
been delivered. 

The thirty-first chapter of Deuteronomy states that when 
Moses had made an end of writing the words of the law 
in a book, he commanded that it should be put in the side 
of the ark of the covenant for a witness. We rightfully 
infer from this direction that already writings were in 
existence known as books; consequently that there was 
some spread of knowledge, especially among the priestly 
class. Traditions of the past had been preserved, the 
sayings of eminent men had sometimes been recorded, and 
the striking experiences of the nation traced on stone or 
brass. As regards a people so long in bondage as the 
Hebrews, who can pretend to say what progress they had 
made upward or downward ? Their legends ran far back r 
even to the creation. The wonders wrought by Moses 
and Aaron for their deliverance from bondage were of 
course treasured in faithful memories, and repeated from 
father to child. And, as they came to realize in the plain 
of Sinai their new life as a nation, they would be prompted 
to make a formal record of all they could rely upon of the 
past, without giving us any hint as to how much or how 
certain this was. Kitto's history of the Bible is a work 
of considerable merit and valuable instruction. He says 
the different books when written were not put in a con- 
nected form till long after their immediate author's decease. 
and that their present arrangement is comparatively mod- 
ern. The Hebrews take the name of each book from the 



THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES. 69 

first word with which it begins. The Greeks, on the other 
hand, whom our translators usually follow, take the names 
Genesis, Exodus, &c, from the subject matter. The 
Hebrews call the first book Bereshith, which signifies in 
the beginning; but the Greeks call it by the name it bears 
in our English Bibles, which signifies " the beginning of 
creation." In one part of the scripture it is called the book 
of Jasher, or the Just. According to a learned writer this 
name was applied to it from its containing the history of 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The second book in the order 
in which they now stand is Exodus, which in the Greek 
signifies " going out," and comprises the history of one 
hundred and forty-five years, from the death of Joseph to 
the building of the tabernacle. The Hebrews call it 
Yelleshemoth, in English "these are the names." The 
third book is called Leviticus, because it contains the laws 
to be observed by the tribe of Levi who ministered at the 
altar. It also gives an account of what happened to the 
Jews for one month and a half, or from the time the tab- 
ernacle was erected — which was the first day of the first 
month of the second year after the Israelites came out of 
Egypt — to the second month of the same year, when the 
people were numbered. The Hebrews call this book 
Yayiere, or " the law of the priests." The fourth book, 
which we call Numbers, the Hebrews call Vagedavbar, 
that is " and he spake." It contains what passed from 
the second month of the second year after the coming out 
of Egypt till the beginning of the eleventh month of the 
fortieth year, or about thirty-nine years. Deuteronomy is 
a name by which the fifth book is known, signifying in 

p6 



»J0 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Greek, " the second law," called by the Hebrews Elle-had- 
debarim, that is "these are the words." This book contains 
the discourse of Moses to the Israelites just before his 
death. The Pentateuch was called by the Jews the 
" Law." The account of Moses' death some zealous parties 
claim was written by himself; while others, wishing to 
preserve a proper degree of consistency, allow that it was 
added a long time, or soon after he died. Nothing is defi- 
nitely known in regard to the book of Ruth. Many con- 
tend that the books of Judges and Ruth were written by 
Samuel; others attribute them to Hezekiah or Ezra. The 
four books following Ruth are called by the Greeks, and 
also in some Latin Bibles, "the history of the reigns;" 
others call them all " the books of Kings," from their 
giving an account of the establishment of monarchy and 
the succession of kings who reigned over the whole land 
at first, and over Judah and Jerusalem after the division. 
By the Jews the first two of these are called the books of 
Samuel, from their containing the history of two kings 
anointed by him. In some Bibles there are four books of 
Kings — the first containing the history of the high priest 
Eli, Samuel, and Saul, a period of about one hundred years. 
The second book refers to the reign of David, a term of 
about forty years. Samuel, Nathan, and Gad, mentioned 
in Chronicles as historians of David, are supposed to have 
been the writers of these two books. The third, or accord- 
ing to the Hebrews the first, book of Kings gives an 
account of the manner in which Solomon came to the 
throne, and the whole of his reign, with an account of a 
division of the kingdom, and a history of the four kings 



THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES. >\\ 

of Judah and eight kings of Israel. These reigns alto- 
gether (including that of Solomon) comprise a term of 
one hundred and twenty-six years. The fourth of these 
books gives the history of sixteen kings of Judah and 
twelve of Israel, with an account of the Prophets who 
lived during their time. It is quite uncertain who wrote 
the last two books; evidently they were a compilation, 
probably by Ezra, the great writer and historian of his 
time. Paralipomena, signifying in Greek "the history of 
things omitted," is the name given to the two books which 
follow those of Kings. They form a kind of supplement 
to the Pentateuch, the books of Joshua, Judges, and Kings; 
giving also a fuller description of many things partially 
omitted, and some matters entirely left out. Chronicles is 
the name given to these books, on account of the exactness 
with which they give the date of events. We divide them 
into two books in conformity with the practice of the Jews, 
who call them in their language " an historical journal," 
the matters of which they treat having been taken from 
the journals of the kings. Ezra is supposed to have been 
the writer of these, as indeed he was the transcriber of all 
the scriptures up to his time, and the historian of the re- 
turn of the Jews from Babylonish captivity to the period 
when C3T11S became master of the Eastern empire by the 
death of CambySes his father, and Cyaxares his father-in- 
law, 454 B. 0. The next book in order of arrangement is a 
continuance of that of Ezra, by some called the second 
book of Ezra, though it 1 tears the name of Nehemiah, who 
is said to have written it under the particular advice and 
direction of Ezra. The re-establishment of Jerusalem and 



72 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

the temple is particularly spoken of, embracing a period 
of about thirty years, to the year 423 B. C. 

After this general history of the Jews, follows some 
account of the life of Esther and Job. Then come writings 
of the moral kind — Psalms, and Proverbs, and what are 
known as the Prophets. Whatever writings existed before 
the time of Josiah — however much had been preserved 
from previous ages in the way of traditions and legends — 
we contend that they had not before that assumed any 
thing of a regular, systematic form. At the time of this 
finding of what was called the Law, the historian says, 
great fear fell upon all the people on account of the neglect 
it had suffered so many years. Without delay the best 
linguistic scholars were called together, who, with Hilkiah 
the priest, and Shaphan the scribe, labored diligently in 
arranging, revising and rewriting all that could be found 
touching matters of such tradscendent importance to the 
nation. The work before them was no less than out of 
crude materials to determine the form which the Penta- 
teuch should wear through all time to come. Thus far no 
name had been given to the writing's other than the Law, 
for it is doubtful whether the first finding included any 
thing more. The history of the growth and formation, 
with the continued additions and alterations of the Jewish 
canon cannot be given, for the very good reason that 
there are no contemporary records in existence to furnish 
materials. At an early date the Jews held as divine thirty- 
nine books, w T hich have come down mostly in Hebrew, and 
which according to the ancient Jewish arrangement were 
reckoned as twenty-two, though more lately as twenty- 



THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES. ^3 

four. Josephus tells us that the first Jewish canon con- 
sisted of twenty-two books : five of Moses, thirteen of 
the Prophets, and four which contain hymns and directions. 
There is some difficulty in classifying these Jewish scrip- 
tures, especially such as constitute the Hagiographa, which 
is neither law, history nor prophecy. For some light on 
this subject reference may well be made to Brown's Bible 
Dictionary, or to William Smith's later work. The publi- 
cation of the Chaldee scriptures is considered to have 
been made by Ezra, who employed for that purpose the 
Chaldee characters then generally in use among the Jews. 
This canon was not fully sottled up to the time of Ezra, 
for several variations were made soon after. Malachi 
could not have been inserted by Ezra, as that Prophet lived 
some time later. Nor could Nehemiah, since that book 
makes mention of a high priest and a king of Persia who 
were at least a hundred years later than Ezra. Probably 
the books of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and 
Malachi, were adopted into the Bible in the time of Simon 
the Just, who was the last of the members of the Great 
Synagogue. It is quite certain that many new arrange- 
ments in regard to the order and division were made not 
long after the Babylonish captivity, by somebody who 
collected together all the old copies, forming a new edition 
more perfect than any before. Much improvement was 
made in the order of arrangement by Ezra. First came the 
Law, containing the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 
Numbers and Deuteronomy. Second, the Prophets, Joshua, 
Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah with his 
Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, twelve of the minor Proph- 



U SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

ets, and Job. The Hagiographa included the Psalms, Pro- 
verbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, and particularly the poeti- 
cal books. 

Targum is a name given to the Chaldee paraphrase of 
the Old Testament. They were comments and explana- 
tions, not literal translations, written in the Chaldee 
tongue, which became familiar to the Jews after their 
captivity; so that they heard the law read in the temple in 
Hebrew, and afterwards explained in the Chaldee. This 
custom began from about the time of Ezra, who in reading 
the law as a part of the temple worship, explained it in 
that way — as did the other priests — to make it understood 
by the people. No written paraphrase is known to have 
been in use much before the birth of Jesus. Amongst 
them all, the Targum of Onkelos is the most esteemed of 
any that have been found, and is inserted verse for verse 
with the Hebrew. There is also the Targum of Jonathan, 
and that of Jerusalem; the latter on the Pentateuch only. 

Talmud : This word comes from the Hebrew, " to teach," 
and was the great depository of the doctrines and opinions 
or the Jews. Two works bear that name — the Talmud of 
Jerusalem, and that of Babylon — each composed of two 
parts, the Mishna which is the text, and the Gemara or 
commentary. 

The Septvagint : This word, meaning "seventy," is well 
known as denoting the Greek version of the Old Testament, 
said to have been the work of seventy translators from the 
Hebrew tongue to the Greek. It is supposed to have been 
done in the reign and by the order of Ptolemy Philadelphus, 
king of Egypt, about 2T5 to 280 B. C. Doubts have been 



THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES. ^5 

entertained as to this being strictly true; many believing 
it to be the work of more than one company of men. It is 
also contended that different parts show different degrees 
of competency, and the application of different rules of 
interpretation. Aristobulus, who was contemporary with 
Jesus and the Apostles, speaks of the translation as made 
by seventy-two interpreters, under the care of Demetrius 
Phalereus, in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus. All the 
Christian writers during the first fifteen centuries of the 
Christian Era, have admitted this account of the Septuagint 
without a question of its accuracy. As to the time of the 
translation there is scarcely a difference of opinion. Until 
this period of about three centuries before Christianity, 
the Hebrew scriptures had not probably been used by any 
other nation than the Jews, because of their being hid in 
a language so little known. No doubt exists as to this 
translation having been made by the most learned Jews 
in connection with the ablest men that could be found; 
nor as to their best efforts being put forth to have the 
whole correct. However, it does not seem that the Jews 
before this translation, or while performing the work, or 
at any time after, neglected in every possible way to 
maintain that they were God's chosen and peculiar peo- 
ple. Every thing was taken up and examined in forming 
the Septuagint, the Targums, the traditions, the legends, 
the scraps of writing on stones, on wood, on parchment. 
However much they desired to perfect their work, it 
could not be expected that they would have entire suc- 
cess. It was taken from a language well understood by 
the Jews, into another of which they had at most a very 



?6 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

imperfect knowledge. But this translation, thus made 
from the materials referred to, by men who pretended to 
no inspiration or divine authority, we are now taught by 
the clergy to call the word of God — the Holy Scriptures — 
with how much propriety every man is bound to be his own 
judge. Every careful reader knows that they nowhere as- 
sert their own inspiration. The books held most sacred 
by the Jews who were contemporary with Jesus and the 
Apostles, were the following : Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 
Numbers, and Deuteronomy as the books of Moses ; Josh- 
ua, Judges, Ruth, two books of Samuel, two of Kings, 
two of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Isaiah, Jere- 
miah, Ezekiel, Daniel, twelve minor Prophets, and Job, as 
the prophetic books ; Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and 
Canticles as the books of hymns and precepts ; in all, 
twenty-two. Of the exact dates and authorship of these, 
no one appears to be fully informed. Romanists say our 
English Bible is incomplete ; but the Protestant world 
insisted at the famous Council of Trent that the apocry- 
phal books never had the sanction of the early Christian 
churches, and were not written till after the Old Testa- 
ment inspiration had ceased ; and therefore were un- 
worthy of a place in the scripture canon. This Council 
convoked in 1545, was marked by much bitter controversy 
in regard to the apocryphal books, and as to what was 
and was not canonical. Doubts had arisen and still con- 
tinue as to where the dividing line between truth and fic- 
tion should run. 

So important was the action of this Council considered, 
that it continued in session, with some slight interruption/ 



THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES. tl 

for eighteen years. The conclusions arrived at were as 
follows : " All the books of Scripture, canonical and apoc- 
ryphal, not excluding that of Baruch, though wanting in 
the old catalogues which are contained in the Latin 
church version, (commonly called the Vulgate), are pos- 
sessed of the same divine authority. Second, that tra- 
dition, whether it regards matters of faith or practice, 
must be received with the same veneration with scrip- 
ture, as it is the unwritten word of God. Third, that the 
Holy Scriptures are to be read and understood according 
to the Vulgate, the only authentic version. Moreover, no 
person shall presume, on his own insight and wisdom, to 
pervert the Holy Scriptures to make them favor his views 
of faith and morals, contrary to the sense which the 
Church has received and still receives, which alone can 
determine what is the true meaning and interpretation." 

The Council of Trent included among the canonical 
books, Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, Maccabees 
First and Second, besides additions to Daniel, and Esther. 
Eusebius, the celebrated Christian historian, sanctions the 
following opinion of Josephus : "We have innumerable 
books which contradict each other, but only twenty-two 
which contain the history of all past times, and are justly 
believed to be divine. Five of these belong to Moses, 
and contain his laws, the history of the origin of man- 
kind, reaching to his death. The Prophets who lived 
after Moses, narrate the events of their time in thirteen 
books. The other four books contain hymns to God and 
precepts for men. 

The word Biblia, Bible, was applied to the sacred 



18 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

writings of the Jews, to signify a collection of books 
held by them as holy, especially the Law and the Proph- 
ets : the word implies plurality, but does not really apply 
to the New Testament. 

Canon and canonical are words in . daily use regarding 
both Testaments : " Canon was introduced only after 
the Christian Era had advanced a considerable period." 
Meaning simply " a straight rod," it is properly applied 
to a standard of correctness. Stuart endorses the state- 
ment of Josephus, as a man who had examined both 
sides of the question : that no books were admitted to 
the Jewish canon unless regarded of prophetic origin. 
Fifteen books once having authority with the Jews, and 
some of them canonical, are known to us now only by an 
occasional reference in our Bibles, or possibly by an 
abridgment of some of their contents in the existing 
Jewish annals : The book of the Wars of the Lord, of 
Jasher, of Solomon's three thousand Proverbs, of the Acts 
of Solomon, of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, of 
the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, of the book of Na- 
than and of Gad, a life of Rehoboam, of Uzziah, of Jehu, 
of Hezekiah, of Manasseh, and the Lamentations of Jere- 
miah over the untimely death of Josiah. Some of these 
are appealed to in such a manner as to show we have ex- 
perienced such a loss as has befallen the Christian world 
with regard to some of the epistles of Paul. 

From this brief outline of the origin of the Jewish 
scriptures, the time and occasions of their starting, their 
additions and emendations, the frequent revisions un- 
der such a variety of circumstances by so many persons 



THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES. ?9 

laying no claim to divine inspiration, it is impossible to 
see any good reason why they deserve the title of " the 
word of* God." In various other places we have said that 
all truth is God's truth, comes from Him, and is the very 
essence of His being. Whoever is moved to tell a great 
truth for the good of God's creatures, is inspired by Him 
to do it. Just so with all who conspire to do a bad deed, 
to tell an untruth, and drag God's creatures down ; the 
creation and inspiration come from the devil through his 
power and influence. They drink in from the great fountain 
of evil, the opposing force of goodness and purity. 

The devout and learned Bishop Colenso speaks of the 
Old Testament writings with a freedom in marked con- 
trast with the cramped and stultified views many enter- 
tain. On account of mere prejudice and superstitious 
fear, a large portion of the Christian world would no 
more read his works than if they were handed them by 
the Evil One himself; and yet no one has undertaken to 
controvert them. Their notice here will be brief. Colen- 
so says a young man who enters the ministry of the 
Church of England must surrender forever all freedom of 
thought, or at least of utterance, upon great questions of 
the age, and bring himself for life to believe in all the 
canonical scriptures, when he knows enough of geology 
and modern criticism to feel that he cannot do this hon- 
estly. The Church of England must in time fall to the 
ground from its own internal weakness by losing its hold 
upon the growing intelligence of all classes, unless some 
remedy is speedily applied to this state of things. 

In the present state of affairs there is great danger that 



80 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

the highly educated classes will drift into irreligion and 
practical atheism, on account of the unsound populaT 
views, and a distrust of so-called spiritual teachers who 
are either stupidly or wilfully ignorant of most notorious 
facts. The Bishop says : " I am writing with the serious 
earnestness of one who believes that he owes a duty to 
the Church itself (of which he is a minister) to do his part 
to secure for the Bible its due honor and authority, and 
save its devout readers from ascribing to it attributes of 
perfection which belong to God alone, and which the Bible 
never claims for itself. It is believed that Moses wrote 
under such special guidance and teaching of the Holy 
Spirit, that he was preserved from making any error in 
recording such matters as came within his own cognisance, 
and was instructed also in regard to events which took 
place before he was born — before, indeed, there was a 
human being on the earth to take note of what was pass- 
ing. He was in this way, it is supposed, enabled to write 
a true account of the Creation. And, though the accounts 
of the Fall and of the Flood, as well as of later events 
which happened in the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, 
may have been handed down by tradition from one gene- 
ration to another, and even some of them, perhaps, written 
down in words or represented in hieroglyphics, and Moses 
may, probably, have derived assistance from these sources 
also in the composition of his narrative, yet in all his 
statements, it is believed, he was under such constant 
control of the Spirit of God that he was kept from making 
any serious error, and certainly from writing anything 
altogether untrue. We may rely with undoubting confi- 



THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES. 81 

dence ; — such is the statement usually made — on the histor- 
ical veracity and infallible accuracy of the Mosaic narra- 
tive in all its main particulars. But the time is come, as I 
believe, in the providence of God, when this question can 
no longer be put by — when it must resolutely be faced, 
and the whole matter fully and freely examined. * * I 
have arrived at the conclusion that the Pentateuch, as a 
whole, cannot possibly have been written by Moses, or by 
any one acquainted personally with the facts which it 
professes to describe. Let it be observed that I am not 
here speaking of a number of petty variations and contra- 
dictions such as, on close examination, are found to exist 
throughout the books. Nor are the difficulties to which I 
am now referring of the same kind as those which arise 
from considering the accounts of the Creation and the 
Deluge; or the stupendous character of certain miracles, 
as that of the sun and moon standing still — or the waters 
of the river Jordan standing in heaps as solid walls, while 
the stream, we must suppose, was still running — or the 
ass speaking with human voice— or the miracles wrought 
by the magicians of Egypt, such as the conversion of a 
rod into a snake, and the latter being endowed with life. 
They are not such, even, as are raised, when we regard the 
trivial nature of a vast number of conversations ascribed 
directly to Jehovah, especially the multiplied ceremonial 
minutiae laid down in the Levitical Law. I cannot, as a 
true man, consent any longer to shut my eyes to the abso- 
lute, palpable self-contradictions of the narrative. I could 
believe and receive the miracles of Scripture heartily, if 
only they were authenticated by a veracious history ; 



82 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

though, if this is not the case with the Pentateuch, any 
miracles, which rest on such an unstable support, must 
necessarily fall to the ground with it. Our belief in the 
living God remains the same as ever, though not the 
Pentateuch only, but the whole Bible, were removed. It 
is written on our hearts by God's own finger, as surely as 
by the hand of the Apostle in the Bible, that ' GOD is, and 
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.' It is 
written there also, as plainly as in the Bible, that ' God is 
not mocked ' — that ' whatsoever a man soweth, that shall 
he also reap' — and that ' he that soweth to the flesh, shall 
of the flesh reap corruption.' Some there will be of a 
different stamp — meek, lowly, loving souls, who consider 
a belief in the historical veracity of the story of the 
Exodus an essential part of their religion. And it is, 
perhaps, God's will that we shall be taught in this our day, 
among other precious lessons, not to build up our faith 
upon a book, though it be the Bible itself; but to realize 
more truly the blessedness of knowing that He Himself, 
our Father and friend, is nearer and closer to us than any 
book; that His voice within the heart may be heard con- 
tinually by the obedient child that listens for it, and that 
that shall be our teacher and guide in the path of duty, 
which is the path of life, when even the words of the Best 
of Books may fail us. 

" In discharging, however, my present duty to God and 
to the Church, I trust that I shall be preserved from saying 
a single word that may cause unnecessary pain to those 
who now embrace as a primary article of faith the ordinary 
view of Scripture inspiration. We must not attempt to 



THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES. 83 

put into the Bible what we think ought to be there ; we 
must not indulge that 'forward delusive faculty/ as Bishop 
Butler styles the imagination, and lay it down for certain 
beforehand that God could only reveal Himself to us by 
means of an infallible Book. 

"It is unquestionably true that the Jews received what 
we call the Old Testament as a collection of divinely- 
inspired writings; and that Christians, on their authority, 
have generally adopted the same belief. What rational 
or consistent ground can we assign for disregarding the 
decision of the Jews in the case of Jesus, and accepting 
it submissively in the case of Moses, David, and Isaiah ? 
The opinion of De Wette is that different portions of the 
Old Testament were collected or brought into their present 
form at various periods; and that the whole body of it 'came 
gradually into existence, and, as it were, of itself and by 
force of custom and public use, acquired a sort of sanction.' 
He conceives the Pentateuch to have been completed about 
the time of Josiah, the collection of Prophets soon after 
Nehemiah, and the devotional writings not till the age of 
Maccabees. His view of the grounds which led to the 
reception of the various books into the sacred canon, is as 
follows : ' The writings attributed to Moses, David, and 
the Prophets, were considered inspired on account of the 
personal character of their authors; but the other writings, 
which are in part anonymous, derive their title to inspira- 
tion sometimes from their contents, and sometimes from 
the cloud of antiquity that rests on them. Some of the 
writings which were composed after the exile — such, for 
example, as the Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, and Daniel — 



84 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

were put on this list on account of the ancient authors to- 
whom they were ascribed; others, for example, Chronicles,, 
and Esther, on account of their contents; and others again r 
as Ezra' and Nehemiah, on account of the distinguished 
merit of their authors in restoring the Law and worship- 
of God.' 

" It will be readily conceded that the divine authority or 
proper inspiration of a series of writings of which we 
know neither the date, the author, the collector, nor the 
principle of selection, can not derive much support from 
the mere opinion of the Jews. These writings nowhere- 
amrm their own inspiration, divine origin, or infallible 
authority. The argument, for the inspiration of the Old* 
Testament Scriptures derived from the character of their 
contents, will bear no examination. It is true that many 
parts of them contain views of Duty, of God, and of 
Man's relation to Him, which are among the purest andi 
loftiest that the human intellect can grasp ; but it is no 
less true that other passages, at least as numerous and! 
characteristic, depict feelings and opinions on these top- 
ics, as low, meagre, and unworthy, as ever took their rise 
in savage minds. These passages, as is well known, 
have long been the opprobrium of orthodoxy and the de- 
spair of theologians ; and so far are they from being con- 
firmatory of Scriptural inspiration, that nothing but the 
inconsiderate and absolute reception of this doctrine has 
withheld men from regarding and representing them in 
their true light. The contents of the Hebrew canon as 
a whole, form the most fatal and convincing argument 
against its inspiration as a whole" 






GENESIS. 85 



CHAPTER VI. 

GENESIS. 

GENESIS, or production, is a name given to the first 
portion of the Greek version of the Bible — to a 
period extending from what is popularly termed the Crea- 
tion to the Deluge, or sixteen centuries and a half. But 
this entire book of Genesis really reaches from Creation 
to the death of Joseph, more than twenty-three hundred 
years. A statement so exceedingly condensed, especially 
in its bearing on the condition and destiny of our race, 
may well claim patient thought and prolonged study. 
Who the writer was we do not know, nor the time of its 
writing. It bears the name of Moses, being the first of 
the five books or Pentateuch which bore his name unchal- 
lenged through so many generations of Jews. But, though 
parts, especially of Exodus may have come directly from 
him, all such late books as William Smith's Dictionary 
declare that it is a compilation, having such a unity of 
plan and coherence of parts as bespeaks a single mind; 
but evidently built upon earlier works, some of them ex- 
ceedingly fragmentary. We believe all that call them- 
selves biblical scholars are agreed that this introductory 
portion of the Old Testament is drawn from different 

87 



86 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

sources — the most distinguished critic among the Germans 
endeavoring to point out seven different authors ; the 
purpose evidently being to present in a connected form all 
that was regarded as unquestionably authentic in the 
annals of our race. If we attribute the work to Moses, we 
must admit that Deuteronomy was completed by another 
hand. But as he was born, according to Usher, 2433 years 
after the creation of our world, we are naturally curious 
to know in what way he obtained the account of such a 
transaction. The common belief is that Jehovah gave it 
him from his own mouth. Another and more reasonable 
theory is that it was a legend of very ancient date which 
came to Moses, carved perhaps on stone slabs, as the 
Egyptians and Assyrians preserved their earliest history 
in picture-writing. Divested of some of its cruder parts 
and the too often repeated name of God, we cannot help 
feeling an interest in its childlike simplicity, its thorough 
honesty, its heartfelt earnestness. The introduction is 
abrupt necessarily. If we admit that at the start God 
was talking, it was to himself only, for there was no one 
to hear. Looking with human eyes and judging with 
human understanding, it is hard to accept the story lite- 
rally; and yet it challenges our entire faith. 

It is required of us not only to take the Creation story 
as true, but as coming from God himself. The biblical 
scholar Coleman says in regard to Creation: "In the be- 
ginning, at some time to us unknown far back in eternity 
God created the heavens and the earth." In fixing the 
date chronologically, he calls it 4102 B. C. This in a long 
series of years is not a great variation from the ordinary 



GENESIS. 87 

reckoning, 4004, but far enough from the true time of the 
first appearance of man on the earth. Surely the whole 
work of the earth's creation did not take place in less than 
millions upon millions of years. Six literal days or six 
thousand years are hardly an approach to the time. Strange 
a notion so absurd as that ever found favor; or the kindred 
childishness that Creation came by one spoken word of the 
eternal Jehovah. Our age is too far advanced in scientific 
knowledge to credit the six-day theory; or to admit that 
the time of man's first appearance on the earth goes no 
farther back than four thousand years. 

The Jewish Scriptures, now designated as the Old Testa- 
ment, begin as follows: 

CHAPTER I. 

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was 
upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the 
face of the waters. 

3 IT And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the 
light from the darkness. 

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night: 
and the evening and the morning were the first day. 

6 IT And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the 
•waters : and let it divide the waters from the waters. 

7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which 
were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firm- 
ament: and it was so. 

8 And God called the firmament Heaven: and the evening and the 
morning were the second day. 

9 And God said, Let the waters under the Heaven be gathered 
together unto one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. 

10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together 
of the waters called he Seas: and (rod saw that it was good. 

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yield- 
ing seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed 
is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 



88 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding fruit, 
whose seed was in itself, after his kind; and God saw that it was 
good. 

13 And the evening and the morning were the third day. 

14 II And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the 
heaven, to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, 
and for seasons, and for days, and years. 

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to 
give light upon the earth: and it was so. 

16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the 
day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 

17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light 
upon the earth, 

18 And to rule over the day, and over the night, and to divide the 
light from the darkness : and God saw that it was good. 

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. 

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the 
moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth 
in the open firmament of heaven. 

21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that 
moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind, 
and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and 
fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 

24 IT And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature 
after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth 
after his kind: and it was so. 

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle 
after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after 
his kind: and God saw that it was good. 

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our like- 
ness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over 
the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and 
over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God 
created he him ; male and female created he them. 

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, 
and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have do- 
minion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and 
over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 

29 IT And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing 



GENESIS. 89 

seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the 
which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, 
and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is 
life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 

31 And God saw everything that he had made: and behold, it 
was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth 
day. 

CHAPTER II. 

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host 
of them. 

2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had 
made ; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he 
had made. 

3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because 
that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and 
made. 

4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when 
they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and 
the heavens, 

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and 
every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not 
caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the 
ground. 

6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the 
whole face of the ground. 

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and 
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a 
living soul. 

8 If And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden; and there he put 
the man whom he had formed. 

9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree 
that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also 
in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and 
evil. ******** 

15 11 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the gar- 
den of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it. 

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree 
of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt 
not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt 
surely die. 



90 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

18 IT And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should 
be alone: I will make him an help meet for him. 

19 And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the 
field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see 
what he would call them; and whatsoever Adam called every living 
creature, that was the name thereof. 

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the 
air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not 
found an help meet for him. 

21 IT And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, 
and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh 
instead thereof; 

22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made 
he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 

23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of 
my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of 
man. 

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and 
shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were 
not ashamed. 

From this point we may well look back and see if we 
understand what we have passed over. What does that 
word "beginning" mean? Must it not be applied in its 
broadest sense ? Because our fathers and grandfathers 
understood it to be about six thousand years ago, is that 
enough for us, who have an entirely different idea of the 
duration of earth ? They read what is so often designated 
as the "blessed book," and shut their eyes to any diffi- 
culties or inconsistencies ; wonderful as its statements 
were, they might be explained but could never be disputed. 

Whoever penned the account knew nothing of the actual 
time of beginning of things, which as we show in other 
places goes back millions of years. In that remote past 
the formation of matter began. As to its exact order, 



GENESIS. 91 

though very much has been written of late and by exceed- 
ingly able persons, only a fraction of what can be discov- 
ered is yet brought to light. Accumulations of knowledge 
will be constantly taking place — and, whether men grow 
better or not, they are bound to grow wiser. 

Those who never lived in Christian lands nor knew any- 
thing of Christian faith, when told in the abrupt manner 
of the opening verse that God created the heaven and the 
earth, without an explanation of the term, would be en- 
tirely unable to comprehend what it meant. Though the 
designation of "God" and "Lord God" to the reading 
community in our day and in Catholic countries is tolerably 
well understood, the strangeness of this wording ought 
not to be overlooked. 

The word heaven has various meanings, according to 
the connection in which it stands : thrown up or elevated; 
the arch which overhangs the earth; the sky; the atmos- 
phere; the place where the sun, moon and stars appear; 
the immediate presence of God, the home of the blessed, 
&c. This term is used by the Jewish, Christian and Pagan 
writers in varying sense according to its connection and 
their peculiar views. In some cases it means the Onipo- 
tent Jehovah; sometimes supreme happiness; sometimes 
a sublime or ecstatic state of being. The heaven here 
said to be created, it is presumed is meant to be taken as 
the peculiar dwelling place of Deity. 

The command is given for light to appear, and it did so. 
Light having existed from all eternity, the phrase is per- 
fectly proper. It appeared as soon as an atmosphere sur- 
rounded the earth; but, day and night could not have been 



92 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

reckoned before the sun became visible, which was not till 
the fourth day. Without a sun could there have been 
either morn or eve in fact? This discrepancy in the 
account shows the perfect honesty of the writer. Nothing 
could be clearer than his determination to give the world 
all he could possibly discover regarding its original begin- 
ning. Few historians are free from errors, but still fewer 
desire to falsify. All created things in which there was 
life had the command laid upon them to multiply; and no 
command from G-od or man was ever better kept; this 
desire upon which the continuance of the race depends, 
in man may be overcome and held in subjection by the 
intellect or conscience, but never so in the lower orders of 
creation. After all terrestrial things were made, with the 
different orders of animals and plants, on the last day, the 
sixth, man was made as divine wisdom suggested in the 
likeness of God; and to him dominion was given over the 
fish of the sea, and over the fowls of the air, and over the 
cattle of the earth, and over every creeping thing. So, 
God created man in His own image, in the image of God 
created He him; male and female created He them. God 
blessed them and gave command that they too should be 
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. They had 
no cultivated fields and yet were in no want of food. 
Every herb and the fruit of every tree were given them, 
with every beast, bird and fish. If therefore they became 
tired of vegetable diet, it was only for them to draw fish 
from the water, or overpower the animals which were so 
very numerous on the face of the earth. And it would 
seem as if this was the way God intended they should 






GENESIS. 93 

live. It is no easy matter to understand what is meant 
by this creation of man in the image of God. No man has 
at any time seen God, as one man sees and knows another; 
therefore we are not able to say how far this first creation 
bore His image. If that race did, we know it was long 
since defaced. No class of men of that type can be found 
at this day. They may have passed away into the spirit 
world, and some where in the broad expanse of creation 
may constitute now a superior race of beings, far above 
us in the scale of spirits. No mention is made of clay or 
earth of any color, red or black. There is a marked lack 
of explicitness about the narrative. The relation could 
hardly be given in fewer words or with greater generality; 
as would naturally be the case were it the translation of 
some picture on limestone slab. This fully completed the 
work of Creation, and God rested, having done all to His 
entire satisfaction, and pronounced it all good. 

The seventh day is declared to have been kept by God 
as sacred, during which no labor was to be done. There 
could have been none at that time, for God had finished 
His work, and this man and woman had no work to per- 
form. From this fact we are led irresistibly to the conclu- 
sion that the command originated with Moses; and that 
whoever wrote this book made the story to correspond in 
its various parts. Mortal man enjoys the success of his 
humble plans, and the writer of Genesis could see no reason 
why God after his great labor should not have a day of 
rest in reviewing his great masterpiece. 

The fifth verse of the second chapter commences another, 
an independent account of the Creation, marked by an 



94 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

entirely different name for Deity, Jehovah for Elohim. 
The German writers were the first to detect this difference, 
and to show its connection with perfectly preserved pecu- 
liarities of diction. And it certainly is to the credit of the 
compiler, whoever he was, that, discovering this diversity 
in the two statements, he has given both accounts in per- 
fect honesty, without trying to qualify one by the other. 
As in the time of Moses there were no proofs that the 
first description should be accepted at the expense of the 
second, or the second to the sacrifice of the first, the only 
fair way was to give us both and let us harmonize them 
to the best of our ability. The admirable Bible Diction- 
ary by William Smith, LL. D.. sustains this view entire- 
ly — declares it to be that of a majority of biblical schol- 
ars in Germany, and adds that the Elohistic portion is 
the older. 

The eighth verse of the second chapter speaks of the 
Lord's planting a garden in Eden. It seems to be hopeless 
now to discover the location of this Paradise-spot. Jose- 
phus does not render us much help. Nor does the precise 
place seem to be at all important. Land then was not 
high in the market; boundaries had not been fixed. Adam 
without any family could not have been anxious about 
annexation. One only human being on the wide earth was 
a sad thought to contemplate. To call his condition lonely • 
would not begin to express such utter desolation. 

CHAPTER III. 

1 Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field 
which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, 
hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden ? 



GENESIS— FALL OF ADAM. 95 

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit 
of the trees of the garden: 

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the 
garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch 
it, lest ye die. 

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your 
eyes shall be opened; and ye shall be as Gods, knowing good and 
evil. 

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and 
that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one 
wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto 
her husband with her; and he did eat. 

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that 
they were naked ; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made them- 
selves aprons. 

8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the gar- 
den in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves 
from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 

9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, 
Where art thou ? 

10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, 
because I was naked; and I hid myself. 

11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked ? Hast thou 
eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest 
not eat ? 

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with 
me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 

13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that 
thou hast done ? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, 
and I did eat. 

14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast 
done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of 
the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all 
the days of thy life : 

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and be- 
tween thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt 
bruise his heel. 

16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow 
and thy conception ; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children ; and 
thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 

17 And unto Adam lie said, Because thou hast hearkened unto 



96 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I com- 
manded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground 
for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. 

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou 
shalt eat the herb of the field. 

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return 
unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for, dust thou art, 
and unto dust shalt thou return. 

20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the 
mother of all living. 

21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats 
of skins, and clothed them. 

22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of 
us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and 
take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of 
Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 

24 So he drove out the man: and he placed at the east of the 
garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every 
way, to keep the way of the tree of life. 

This brief third chapter contains the only and all the 
history found in the Old Testament of Adam's fall. If as 
important to the whole world as some contend, why did 
the Jewish writers fail to dwell upon it afterwards ? 
Were they in less danger than those who have lived since 
on account of Adam's transgression ? The Messiah they 
expected and still expect was in no sense what the Chris- 
tian world contends that Jesus was. Eating" the fruit of 
an apple-tree is the corner-stone of the theology which 
comes to us through them. To suppose that they consid- 
ered it as affecting in any way the condition of our race 
in this life or after death, is an unwarrantable assump- 
tion. The effect of it was felt at once, as the account 
states. But nowhere is it intimated that the Jews ex- 
pected that Adam's conduct would damn the whole world, 



GENESIS— FALL OF ADAM, 97 

or any part of it. Four thousand years after this great 
event, the matter began to be discussed with reference to 
its general effect on the descendants of Adam. What 
the Jewish writers had said that could by any possibility 
be considered prophetic, and by forced construction be 
made to show that they foresaw the advent of Jesus as 
the savior of all the Adamite world from the effect of this 
great sin, was brought prominently forward. The at- 
tempt was then made to prove Jesus to be the son of 
David, the son of God, and the redeemer of the world. 
The Jews ought to have been able to say what their ex- 
pectations were; and we think the} 7 did in the plainest of 
language. Their Messiah was coming to restore Israel, 
to renew the temple-service, and to sit on the throne of 
David forever. But so it was that by the Fall man was 
said to be lost, and then restored by Jesus, according to 
the so-called plan of salvation. 

No doubt exists in the mind of any one as to Adam's 
having sinned, and his posterity's following in his steps 
down to the present time. The question is whether Adam 
(like other people) sinned for himself alone; or, for all 
mankind after him, as what theologians term the Federal 
Head. There is a light shining into the heart of every 
man, we are sure, by which he is enabled to know good 
from evil. If ho does the evil (knowing it to be evil), he 
merits punishment; and if justice is done him will have 
it. God is equally faithful in either kind of reward. 
There is no peace, His word says, to the wicked. Men 
may imagine the habitual sinner is insensible to the 
misery of his wrong-doing; but he is not, he cannot be. 



98 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

The outward man may show this self-satisfaction, but the 
inward pangs are gnawing — a guilty conscience who can 
bear ? Sin will find us out. The darkness of night may 
hide it from others, not from ourselves, never from God. 
Saying that in Adam all died, and in Jesus all shall be 
made alive, will not take away sin and make us pure for 
the presence of God and the company of angels. 

A serpent is by no means more subtile than any other 
beast of the field, and is really not a beast. By all natu- 
ralists they are called reptiles. A beast has four legs 
upon which to walk; the serpent has not, and never had. 
Nor does the serpent possess any organs of speech. 
Hardly does any fable pretend such absurdity. Selecting 
such a creature to reason upon subjects which puzzle the 
wisest is certainly in bad taste. How did this serpent 
gain a knowledge of what the Lord told Adam ? Was 
he listening when the Lord spake ? If there was but one 
language, and the Lord, Adam, Eve and the serpent all 
talked in it, why should Eve suspect the serpent of telling 
a lie when he told her they should not die ? It is self-evi- 
dent that they did not die on the day when the fruit was 
eaten. The death was not spiritual, for, before eating 
they had no spiritual consciousness; nor did any temporal 
death even of the venomous tempter follow. 

Adam's endeavor to get excused by laying the blame 
on Eve, has been the constant practice of mankind ever 
since. Few are willing to say they did wrong; some- 
body else made them do it; told them it was a plausible 
story and led them to think it was best, That Adam and 
Eve had our consciousness of good and evil is hardly a 



GENESIS—FALL OF ADAM. 99 

supposable case. And it is difficult to see what good rea- 
son there was for the severe punishment visited upon 
Adam, to say nothing of his posterity — provided of course 
the story is founded in fact, which it is hard to admit. 
The serpent was not badly punished, for he had never 
moved except as a reptile, nor fed on any thing but what 
he could reach by creeping. Truly, the change with him 
was light indeed. Enmity between man and all the ser- 
pent-kind has been universal as far back as history goes. 
The disposition to crush the reptile's head is seemingly 
innate. Take a person who never saw a snake, and place 
one before him ; the first impulse would be to crush him. 

A practical view may be taken of this ancient legend. 
The original purpose evidently was to show up the way 
sin first insinuated itself into the heart of man by creep- 
ing around noiselessly, crawling at his feet, and in a subtile 
way convincing him that he could sin against knowledge 
'without harm. Examined in this way much may be gained 
for instruction and profit. There is a force that runs 
'Counter to good; it is in the earth, in the air, in the heav- 
<ens, in our hearts, around us, and on every hand. Our 
great business is to resist this foe continually — to overcome 
him in fact with good. We can do it, but effort is required. 
Looking closely, error can easily be distinguished from 
truth. Like the serpent it is always tortuous in move- 
ment, never following straight lines. After the sentence 
was passed upon the woman her nature underwenl no 
perceptible change. Physically she suffered the same in 
the trials peculiar In her sex; her sorrows wore in no way 
multiplied; her -devotedness to her husband united with 



100 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

his superior strength, in subjecting her to his imperious 
will. And this superiority of the male over the female is 
observable through all animated creation. The parties as 
set forth in this story are taken up in the order of their 
acts to receive sentence. The serpent beguiled the wo- 
man, and she led her husband into the trap by her winning 
charms, unconscious perhaps of the injury she was doing, 
as many have been. A vast amount of good has been 
done upon earth by getting wives enlisted first, who easi- 
ly induce their husbands to fall in; and it must be con- 
fessed, too, that many bad things have been brought 
about in the same away. Adam came up with some re- 
luctance after listening to the verdict against the other 
two, for he felt his guilt as an accomplice. Let us see the 
sentence in chapter third : " Unto Adam he said because 
thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast 
eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee saying ' thou 
shalt not eat of it/ cursed is the ground for thy sake: in 
sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life." — v. 18. 
" Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou 
shalt eat the herb of the field." — v. 19. "In the sweat of 
thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the 
ground: for, out of it wast thou taken: for, dust thou art 
and unto dust shalt thou return." — v. 20. 

This purports to be the words of the Lord addressed to 
Adam ; but who is able to tell what the change was ? 
Berries and nuts, herbs and plants, were the same after 
the sentence as before. He could eat them without culti- 
vation; but if taste or inclination led him to dig in the 
ground he would find what grew from cultivation enough. 



GENESIS— FALL OF ADAM. 101 

better to reward his labor. As to thorns and thistles, 
they were as plenty before as after the apple was eaten. 

" And the Lord God said, Behold the man is become as 
one of us to know good and evil;" a perfect refutation of 
the popular view, since the Fall is here shown to have 
brought man nearer to God, and so to be a step forward 
and upward in man's development. And the reason is 
clear as noonday. Sin is the condition of penitence; and 
penitence, says Dr. Hedge, is nearer to God than inno- 
cence. The relation of innocence is the sense of protec- 
tion; the relation of penitence is craving and aspiration — 
is the laying hold of God with thought and desire. But, 
the likeness to God is really the awakening of self-con- 
sciousness. Previously man had been in a kind of dream. 
Earth and sky and the beauty in them had been a part of 
that dream. Now, he awoke to himself; he took his des- 
tiny into his own hands ; he reached forth to the tree of 
life that he might appropriate the blessings of being 
without the use of means. But the goal was not to be 
reached so. There must be toil and trouble — a march 
and a battle: and so Adam needed to go forth from a 
Paradise of ease, and be ennobled by struggle, elevated 
by the development of character, and glorified by self- 
victory. (See Hedge's Primeval World, Chapter V.) 

It is difficult to tell the reason why the Lord God, be- 
fore placing Adam and Eve in the garden, did not remove 
the fatal tree and expel the serpent. Not much credit 
would be given to a humane society in our time that 
failed to take such precaution. Had this pair stood up 
(irmly against the wiles of the old serpent and let the 

»8 



102 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

fatal fruit alone, how much better for their posterity: and 
how is this exposure of a son and daughter to shame 
and sin to be reconciled with the love of a devoted 
father. Even had nothing- been said about the fruit that 
must not be touched, the danger would have been far 
less. We naturally desire to see what we hear about, 
and to taste what we think is good to eat. When Eve 
had tasted, the desire was natural to have her husband 
share the same luxury. How could it be otherwise, with 
the ardent love of the two hearts which were all in all to 
each other ? 

After having been expelled from the garden something 
like a year, Eve gave birth to a son, saying she had 
gotten a man from the Lord; and they called his name 
Cain, probably from the Arabic for Smith, indicating pe- 
culiar mechanical genius. Not a very long time after, 
Eve conceived again, and a second son was born: but the 
account does not say in regard to Abel, as it does of 
Cain, that he was gotten from the Lord. These sons 
when they grew to manhood, as is frequently the case 
with two of the same sex growing up together, were just 
as different as black and white. It seems they both had 
farms to cultivate; though one was particularly fond of 
sheep, while the other had extensive fields of grain. On 
a certain day the instinct of worship belonging to human- 
ity prompted the brothers to make a sacrifice to the Lord. 
The rumor may have reached them of such things having 
been done elsewhere. Abel made an offering of some 
portion of his flock, while Cain, who possibly had no 
sheep, made an offering of fruit. Nothing appears to 



GENESIS— CAIN AND ABEL. 103 

show that one was more sincere than the other, but He- 
brew scholars say the" original language shows that Cain 
was ill-tempered and spiteful in the act. But how Deity's 
pleasure and displeasure were shown, we are not informed. 
Yet the Lord is said to have noticed Cain's appearance and 
mortified spirit, and asked him for an explanation, at the 
same time telling him that all who did well were accepted, 
all who did not would suffer; and that his first born should 
be the master over Abel. Under this state of things, the 
two brothers went forth to the field. "And Cain talked 
with Abel his brother: and it came to pass when they 
were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his 
brother, and slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, 
Where is Abel thy brother ? And he said, I know not: 
Am I my brother's keeper ? And he said, What hast thou 
done ? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from 
the ground. And now thou art cursed from the earth, 
which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's 
blood from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground, it 
shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength. A fugi- 
tive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain 
said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can 
bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the 
face of the earth; and from thy face shall 1 be hid; and I 
shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it 
shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall 
slay me. And the Lord said uuto him, Therefore whoever 
slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven-fold. 
And the Lord set a mark Upon Cain, lest any finding hinj 
should kill him."— v. 8, 15. 



104 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

The year 129 from the creation of Adam, according to 
Usher's chronology, which we follow*as the most accepted, 
was the era of the first murder, and of its punishment. 
But the relation does not bear the stamp of a historic fact. 
Cain is first sentenced to he a vagabond in the earth; 
then he says he is driven from the face of the earth and 
hidden from the sight of God. Whether he was in the 
earth or on it, he certainly was in the Lord's presence, 
unless we understand this as a conscious shrinking away 
from the Being he had so wantonly offended. " And Cain 
went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the 
land of Nod on the east of Eden." — iv. 16. 

We may as well notice particularly the account given 
of Cain's sentence. No preliminary remarks were made. 
The Lord told him in the most direct manner that his 
brother's blood cried from the ground. Hanging was a 
thing unknown then, nor had the ax been used for behead- 
ing; neither had stoning or burning at the stake been 
thought of. So God sentenced him to live; and for fear 
he should be murdered in turn, set a mark on him, and 
said vengeance should be visited seven-fold on any one 
who took the life of Cain. How much more lenient was 
the Lord toward one, who, in a fit of jealous} 7 slew his 
brother, than the common law now which says the public 
will kill whoever kills his brother ! 

Cain was guilty of murder, the blackest of all crimes; 
such deep stains needed years of penitential sorrow to 
wash them out; and God secured them by an inviolable 
decree. 

Were the race of Adam alone? The world was thickly 



GENESIS— THE DELUGE. 105 

populated in Cain's own neighborhood. Allowing this to 
be a century and a quarter from the first man's birth, 
there was a term sufficient for Adam's posterity to scatter 
over some extent of country; but how much we are not 
told, nor is there any way of finding out: yet biblical 
students agree that he wandered far away, perhaps to the 
eastern border of Asia, to take a wife among another peo- 
ple, perhaps of quite another race. Without going far 
from the place of his unnatural crime, the dark story of 
it would follow him and interfere with his matrimonial 
plans. He journeyed to the land of Nod, and soon be- 
came so settled that there was an increase in Ms family: 
"And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived, and bare 
Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the 
city after the name of his son, Enoch. That the sons of 
God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and 
they took them wives of all which they chose. There 
were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, 
when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, 
and they bare children to them; the same became mighty 
men, which were of old, men of renown." 

The third great event in the history of the world, the 
Deluge, is said to have been foretold by Noah more than 
a century before it occurred. The sixth verse of the sixth 
chapter declares that it " repented the Lord that He had 
made man on the earth, and it grieved Him to the heart. 
The wickedness was very great and man's thoughts were 
evil continually." In destroying the race of men, the 
Lord determined to save Noah and his family, and there- 
fore directed him to build a place of refuge as follows: 



106 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

"Make thee an ark of gophir; the length shall be three 
hundred cubits" — which at the lowest measure of the cubit 
would be four hundred and fifty feet; "the height thirty 
cubits, the breadth fifty cubits" — considerably less than 
the size of the Great Eastern. "A window shalt thou make 
one cubit high; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in 
the side thereof. There shall be lower, second and third 
stories." The common idea is that this was an enormous 
oblong wooden box with sloping roof — in fact, the most 
singular structure of its time and by far the largest ship 
then known. 

In commenting on this story the same freedom will be 
used as with others of a similar kind. Of course their 
literal truth or untruth can in no way alter a moral prin- 
ciple or disturb any historical fact. Were all the legends 
that crowd the Asiatic world true or false, virtue and vice 
would remain in themselves and in their results, carrying 
with them as they do inevitable rewards and punishments. 
The reader may ask: Why introduce any questions about 
the Deluge — it is in the Bible, and that should put all 
doubts at rest ? Faith is really a great thing, being the 
substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things 
not seen. Closely scrutinized, it exists in regard to things 
we know but little about. Why was Noah the only man, 
with his family, entitled to exemption from entire destruc- 
tion ? Subsequent history does not show him to have 
been perfect by any means. We cannot discover that he 
exceeded in goodness the whole race or races of men on 
the earth in any respect. The improbabilities of this par- 
ticular portion of Bible history will be noted as we proceed. 



GENESIS— THE DELUGE. 107 

If such an ark ever floated on the vast and surging waters 
covering the whole earth, and withstood such a tempest 
as we suppose prevailed, the construction must have been 
of the strongest materials, with immense timbers and the 
heaviest iron fastenings to keep everything in place. 
When the year's cruise was ended and a landing was 
made on Mount Ararat, the vast bulk and enduring nature 
of the materials would have secured preservation, in part 
at least, for many hundred years. Nothing, however, has 
been handed down to us through the channels of profane 
history, by which we gain even a slight account of this 
floating mass of wood, with its living freight and extensive 
stock of provender. The noted historian Josephus, who 
has given the world so much light in respect to early 
times, and particularly in regard to his own people, makes 
only a brief allusion to the affair, and that in a way to 
show he thought it an obscure tradition. None of the 
other early annalists make the least mention of it. Had 
the remains been in existence at any known place when 
Josephus wrote, as they were likely to have been were the 
record true, he would not have omitted to visit the spot 
and examine them. And such would have been the case 
with other historians who flourished before Josephus. 
When we consider the difficulty of constructing such an 
unwieldy thing as this was, according to the description, 
the first thought is that the whole story is incredible. 
The vessel's ability to contain the entire amount of 
living freight represented as going into it, with the food 
necessary lor sustenance during a whole year, must be 
questioned by thoughtful readers. Two males and two 



108 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

females of all unclean "beasts, birds, and creeping things, 
and seven males and seven females of all that were called 
clean, would make an aggregate beyond our highest 
estimate. As to the sailing arrangements of the immense 
craft, we cannot speak any more than of the way in which 
its course was directed. If there was neither sail nor 
helm, how was it saved from destruction by being driven 
against some mountain crag ? What means of ventilation 
were provided for comfort even, more than the preservation 
of life ? 

How Noah and his sons made proper stowage of all this 
living freight and the food is not an easy question to answer: 
"And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou 
shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and 
for them. — vi. 21. And Noah went in, and his sons, and 
his son's wives with him, into the ark, because of the 
waters of the flood. — vii, 7. Of clean beasts, and beasts 
that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that 
creepeth upon the earth. — vii. 8. There went in two and 
two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as 
God had commanded Noah." — vii. 9. According to this 
reading, Noah had only to step in with his family, and 
wait the coming of the live part of his cargo. The sup- 
plies were already stored away, as we are led to infer. 
But we must not forget this floating structure was a three- 
story craft, and hence the difficulty, if not impossibility, 
of the animals mounting from one story to the other. 
There was only a single door, and that of course an en- 
trance to only one story. Many of the animals were car- 
niverous, and required a daily allowance of flesh for sus- 



GENESIS— THE DELUGE. 1Q9 

tenance; which it would be a puzzle to preserve. Some 
were herbiferous, others graniferous, subsisting only on 
bulky food occupying an extended space, much beyond 
the whole capacity of the ark for a year's supply. A 
careful calculation on this head will surprise any one. 
The amount of water for drink such a length of time, 
with fair allowance for evaporation, would actually form 
a lake. The more close the estimate, the more insurmount- 
able do the difficulties of the story appear; before we are 
fairly under way its absurdity becomes a fixed fact. 

But we will go on: What was done with all the excre- 
ments ? Its bulk for so long a time would have filled the 
vessel. What was voided in the upper stories would have 
seriously troubled those in the lower; and the stench 
would have been dreadful. We are told that the animals 
went forward as if by instinct, and in perfect regularity 
to take their places aboardship. It may be well to con- 
sider particularly what the whole number was of all the 
living, creeping, and flying things on the earth at that 
time; and what the aggregate would be when multiplied 
generally by fourteen, for the unclean may be reckoned 
less than the clean. Many of these animals were of such 
size but few could be properly kept in a large space, 
like the mastodon and elephant, while others less bulky 
would still require a good deal of room. Therefore, to 
place the whole in a lit condition for a year's voy- 
age, in a vessel no larger than an English man-of-war, 
seems to b(3 among the impossibilities. Dealing out food 
was a labor that no three men could have performed, even 
with the aid of the women. Care in this respect was im- 



110 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

portant, as no extinction of any order of animals was to 
occur. 

Should any contend that this whole thing was a work 
undertaken by God to avoid the great labor of a new crea- 
tion; and that He was able to fill the ark (as we read it 
was rilled), with every living thing however distant they 
had been from the place where it was located; we reply 
if such had been the case the writer of this singular ac- 
count would have spoken of it. The God that directed 
Noah about building the ark and loading the freight, is 
thought to be the same who made all things that had life, 
and yet only a few hundred years after was sorry the 
work was done, so poorly had it answered its purpose. 
But all being ready, according to the account, with the 
cargo snugly stowed away, the rain began to come down, 
or in other words, the " windows of heaven were opened." 
Few people, whether men of science or not, can attach 
any distinct meaning to the phrase, " opening the windows 
of heaven." We frankly confess that sustaining water 
on high by simply excluding light is, far beyond our feeble 
comprehension. Flood-gates in the skies would have been 
a more appropriate term. At any rate the rain continued 
without abatement until, as the story reads, the highest 
mountains were submerged to the depth of about twenty- 
two feet. Should the question be asked who was there 
on the top of the highest mountains to take the measure 
in the storm, or how it was that Noah obtained the ac- 
count from those that made the survey, no answer could 
be given. This reflection alone is sufficient to show the 
fabulous character of the account. Besides, calculations 



GENESIS— THE DELUGE. \\\ 

have been made to show that all the water contained on 
our earth, including what is above the windows of heaven, 
would not be sufficient to cover the highest mountains on 
the earth to the depth of twenty- two feet. The particular 
place where the ark was constructed has not yet been 
named by any of the ancient historians. Possibly it was 
on the sea-shore, so as to be easity launched before the 
flood commenced; or it might have been on elevated 
ground where it remained to be floated by the rising 
waters. About this we are just as wise as Moses was 
when he wrote the history. 

The Deluge story has been read so often all must allow 
they know it, but none can say they know it to be true. 
We can not conceive how all the beasts and creeping 
things moved from the natural places of their abode to 
the ark. Great difficulties had to be encountered as all 
must readily see. Those that could move with a good de- 
gree of speed in a journey over half the surface of our 
globe, would, on account of natural obstructions, be sub- 
ject to delay. Mountain ranges, seas, lakes and rivers 
had to be encountered or detours made on lines of great 
divergence. How then could those animals and creeping 
things that move only with extreme slowness, have per- 
formed a journey of ten thousand miles amidst all such 
impediments ? Difference of climate was another obsta- 
cle, causing sickness and death. That an unseen power 
transported all or any of them by a miracle has not been 
asserted by any writer entitled to credit. Had such been 
the case, still the diefliulties of changing climate were of 
a formidable nature. 



112 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Should a relation like this be found in any other book 
than the Bible, and referred to what took place in later 
times, all intelligent people would dispute it. Now they 
dare not, and say this must be taken — like all else the 
Bible contains — as the word of God, though no evidence 
exists as to its truth. 

Eminent divines, who pride themselves on great acquire- 
ments and the soundest faith, call the Bible a story-book. 
As some of these stories appear to mortals unreasonable 
and inconsistent, can it be possible that a single soul will 
be sent to hell for lack of belief in what they think is 
untrue ? If that is to be the case and honest doubts are 
inexcusable, the place fixed for the abode of these unfortu- 
nates ought to be extensive enough to prevent uncomfort- 
able fullness. The rain continued for nearly a year before 
it ceased. Noah during the long weary months kept a 
constant look-out from his little window on one side or end 
of the ship, when at length to his great joy he saw the 
top of a mountain, and soon the Ark rested upon solid 
ground. None can fail to take a lively interest in this 
ancient history, fabulous though it may be. When Noah 
and his three sons were fully satisfied that the vessel 
would soon not only be out of the rolling waters, but in a 
condition for disembarkation, there was great rejoicing. 
Taking out safely all the Ark contained, was a work 
requiring time and care. Fresh air, so agreeable in all 
cases, was particularly valued by those who had not 
breathed it for a year. How much grassy earth had sur- 
vived the drenching, or how vegetation had fared generally, 
can only be imagined. Anything in the way of open space 



GENESIS-7HE DELUGE. H3 

was acceptable. But very few of all the animals were in 
a climate suited to their habits of life. Most of them were 
far away from their native regions, where they first saw 
life and where habits had been formed. Movement was 
imperative without delay. The stir and excitement would 
have interested a looker-on who had no other part to take, 
had there been any of that class. The water, having 
been in a disturbed condition for a twelve-month, of course 
was not free from earthy matter. Clean water was there- 
fore sought even at a distance. As to Noah, his sons and 
the four females with them, we are naturally curious to 
know how they demeaned themselves after their perilous 
ride over a vast ocean with neither island nor shore. They 
had a way of their own for the manifestation of gratitude, 
and immediately prepared an altar upon which to make a 
sacrifice of many kinds of animals. Seeing that those He 
had saved from drowning were but little better than those 
who had suffered an untimely death, Deity seems almost 
regretful for what had been done, as He is said before to 
have regretted that man was made. Should not both 
statements be taken with great allowance ? Infinite 
wisdom is not thus short-sighted, making one day what 
He is under necessity of destroying another — doing and 
undoing continually. The last thing we have to dread of 
the Almighty Providence is the frequent change of those 
plans which He seems to have laid before the foundation 
of the world — rather which are grounded forever in the 
very essence of tilings. It is not strange that in the very 
beginning of the race human weaknesses should have been 
attributed to Deity. Now however, two great mistakes 



114 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

having been committed, the first in making man and ani- 
mals, and the second in drowning them all, the Lord 
promised Noah and all his descendants that he would not 
deluge the earth again; and established a covenant with 
every living thing on the earth that he would never sweep 
mankind away again, by setting up in a most conspicuous 
manner in the heavens that beautiful thing the rainbow, 
as a witness that neither His living creatures nor Himself 
should by any possibility forget the contract. Even to 
this day the bow of promise is regarded as a sign of per- 
petual security and heavenly favor. Noah and his sons 
are presumed to have gone forward in cultivating the earth, 
and in the important work of multiplying. Taking the 
chronological dates as a guide, during the second year 
after the waters abated Noah was able to obtain wine, 
though it is hard to understand by what means, if the flood 
was universal, since the planting of a vineyard to yield 
wine so soon was hardly possible; but he got it as the 
account says, and partook of it until he was completely 
overcome. From this circumstance he could not be taken 
for a temperance man; and the question arises: Why, in 
saving only one man and his three sons from universal 
ruin, did God not take a temperate person ? Probably 
there were numbers of such to be found. Sad to say, Noah 
was so drunk as to lie naked in his tent, quite unconscious 
of what was going on around. 

The fact that a deluge of waters occurred at a remote 
time, submerging large portions of the earth, is proved 
abundantly by whole circles of traditions. Nor is it im- 
possible that some persons may have found safety upon a 



GENESIS— THE DELUGE. H5 

monstrous raft. We have evidence to show that what is 
known as the "drift" has acted periodically, producing 
great changes on the earth's surface. As stated in another 
chapter, the less extensive of these drifts happen at inter- 
vals of about twenty-one thousand years, and the greater 
once in about two hundred thousand years. The story of 
the Noachian deluge may have originated in one or the 
other of these experiences, and found its way along in 
Jewish story to the present time as part of God's revela- 
tion to man. But we are sure no such flood occurred as 
the Noachian deluge is said to have been, as late as 2348 
years B. C, nor could it possibly have been universal. 
Long continued rains in the elevated regions and mountain 
ranges where the head waters of the Nile are now ascer- 
tained to be, might have caused extensive inundations; 

i 
and such an occurrence may have been colored by a 

glowing imagination so that out of it a tolerably fair 
flood-story has found credit for so many hundred years. 
All that was at first lacking to make such a relation inte- 
resting and give it the character of an act of the Lord's, 
could be easily supplied by an Oriental fancy. 

In going forward in the wide world the three males of 
this Ark party, constituting as they did the most daring 
adventurers and successful navigators the sea ever bore, 
would not all go in one direction; especially as they in- 
creased rapidly, and would soon form a number of separate 
communities. "The sons of Japheth dwelt in the Isles 
of the Gentiles; the sons of Ham went to the land of 
Shinar." — x. 5. 

About 130 years after the flood, Nimrod, a son of Cush 



116 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

and grandson of Noah, began to be a mighty hunter before 
the Lord. "And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, 
(or as is supposed the most ancient Babylon), and Erech, 
and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that 
land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city 
Rehoboth, and Calah. And Resen between Nineveh and 
Calah: the same is a great city." — x. 11. 

From the decendants of Ham also came the Philistines, 
the Canaanites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgasites, 
the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the 
Zemarites, and the Hamathites. The exact times when 
the foregoing communities were founded, the tribes organ- 
ized, and the colonies sent forward, may have been known 
once but never will be again. Farther attempts will 
probably be made to fix accurate dates by discovering and 
deciphering monuments, but with no great success. The 
time is too far in the misty past for any trustworthy records 
to remain. The increase of the Canaanites was astonish- 
ingly rapid, quickly spreading from Sidon to Gaza, to 
Admah, and even unto Lasha. We see that country, of 
which so much is afterwards said, was the first abode of 
the descendant's of Ham's son Canaan, who was also the 
grandson of Noah. Tribes at that time were small, em- 
bracing at first only a single family, dividing afterwards 
as their increase led to their dispersion for pasturage. 
That Canaan was not an isolated country appears evident, 
for at this early time the travel to and from the place was 
frequent, extending even to long distances. But the prob- 
able dates of the transactions of which we are speaking 
will not at all permit of the descendants of Noah peopling 



GENESIS— CONFUSION OF TONGUES. nf 

Egypt, and the countries that we know existed, before the 
peopling- of Canaan. The descendants of Shem occupied a 
mountainous region called Misha. 

"And the whole earth was of one language, and of one 
speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the 
east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and 
they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, 
let us make brick, and bum them thoroughly. And they 
had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And 
they said, Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose 
top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, 
lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole 
earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the 
tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord 
said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one lan- 
guage; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will 
be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 
Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, 
that they may not understand one another's speech. So 
the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face 
of the earth; and they left <>tY to build the city. Therefore 
is the name of it called Babel, because the Lord did there 
confound the language of all the earth: and from thence 
did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the 
earth." — xi, 1, 9. Many reasons might be given why there 
was more than one language on the earth, but to one 
acquainted with ancient history (he fact is too plain to 
require evidence. Certain it is that a company of emi- 
grants found a stopping place called Shinar, in an exten- 
sive plain, where the land was fertile and pleasant; and 

89 



118 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

there they founded the city, and in due time erected the 
tower. Connected with this city as its capital, grew up a 
kingdom called Babylonia. The whole embraced a wide 
region of splendid country along the Euphrates, to which 
ancient history often calls our attention. The diversity of 
opinion and the difficulty of arriving at a correct account 
of the country as of the city, and of their chronology, is 
the reason of our not devoting much time to a minute 
explanation. The commencement, which has been vari- 
ously given, we have placed at about 130 years after the 
Deluge. The city must date as early as that, the tower 
somewhat later, and the foundation of the empire may 
have been still later. From any good Bible dictionary we 
learn that the city and tower of Babel were not the work 
of all the people dwelling upon earth; but of a very small 
fraction. There can be no doubt about this, nor as to the 
time being more than a century after the Deluge, when the 
earth is said to have been depopulated except as to the one 
elect family. Therefore other families besides Noah's must 
have existed upon earth, or a mere fragment of the people 
could not so soon after the earth was desolated have 
founded such a city nor erected such a tower. Mechanical 
skill would have been wanting for works so extended and 
difficult as we may suppose the buildings and erections 
were. Had the population been equal to the performance 
of such extensive operations, the difficulties would still 
have been insurmountable without aid from other commu- 
nities. Much has been said in opposition to the declaration 
that the whole world was using one and the same language 
at the time spoken of. By the account we learn that the 



GENESIS— CONFUSION OF TONGUES. H9 

Lord God in some way found out that something of im- 
portance was being done on the earth, and decided to " go 
down there and examine. 7 ' From this fact — if fact it is — 
human beings would do well to learn a lesson, and in all 
cases make an examination before coming to a decision. 
However, it seems odd enough to talk of the infinite God 
as being unable to know what was being done on the 
earth! Strange indeed that the work of building the tower 
of Babel could in no way be stopped without confounding 
the single language then in use! And how was it certain 
that they would be widely scattered by this confusion of 
tongues ? There are cities on the Mediterranean where 
half a dozen tongues are familiarly spoken, and some indi- 
viduals have that number at their command. Nor were 
the people there ignorant enough to believe they could 
reach heaven h\ the tower. That was far from being 
their object. However much the Bible readers may think 
so because they find such a statement there, a small amount 
of common sense will show its absurdity. Towers in early 
times were used as places of worship, or as observatories 
for the study of the heavens. Such was the case in Egypt. 
Doubtless amongst a less intellectual race they were 
meant to minister to idolatry, in connection with astrology. 
Very probably the tower never was completed, and the 
earthquake or natural phenomenon which interrupted the 
work would be taken as the manifestation of Divine dis- 
pleasure. We do not pretend that all or any of the accounts 
like the one of which we arc now speaking came into vogue 
as a pure fiction. Towers oi" considerable heighl have 1 
been erected by the suns of men as far back as history of 



120 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

any kind goes. The pyramids are of earlier date than the 
tower of Babel, which was not such a novelty in its day 
as to require the special intervention of God. 

An important period of 340 years is calculated from 
the departure of Abram out of Haran to the commencement 
of the exodus: "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get 
thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy 
father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I 
will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, 
and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that 
curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be 
blessed. So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken 
unto him, and Lot went with him ; and Abram was seventy 
and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And 
Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and 
all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls 
that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go 
into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan 
they came. And Abram passed through the land unto the 
place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the 
Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared 
unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will 1 give this land: 
and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared 
unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain 
on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el 
on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an 
altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. 
And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. 
And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went 



GENESIS— ABRAM RETURNS TO CANAAN. 121 

down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was 
grievous in the land." — xii, 1, 10. When they drew near 
to Egypt he told Sarai his wife that she was handsome — a 
thing it seems strange he had not spoken to her about 
before — and that the Egyptians would kill him that the 
way might be clear for some of them to marry tier. And 
so they agreed to tell a lie outright and say that she was 
his sister. This arrangement was made before they had 
reached Egypt, and before any Egyptian had set eyes on 
Sarai. Was it not a bad piece of business for one who 
had been so honored of God, and to whom such promises 
had been made ? Pharaoh believed what they said, and 
acted accordingly; but, detecting the deception, ordered 
both to leave the country, which they did, being careful 
however to take all that Pharaoh had given them — even a 
large amount of the wealth of those times — sheep and 
oxen, asses and slaves. Abram returned, comparative!} 7 
rich in what he had obtained by deception. Nor do we 
know that the plan was not contrived by man and wife 
(as in modern times) to make money by levying blackmail. 
"And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, 
and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. And 
Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And 
he went on his journeys from the south even to Beth-el, 
unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, 
between Bethe-el and Hai. Unto the place of the altar, 
which he had made there at the first: and there Abram 
called on the name of the Lord." — xiii, 1, 4. Thus we see 
him again at the exact place where he had rested on his 
journey to Egypt. Lot too was witli him, enriched in some 



122 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

way with flocks and herds. Seeing that the land would 
not afford sustenance for both, they decided to separate. 
Lot preferred the plain of Jordan, at a place called Sodom — 
notwithstanding: the profligacy of the people — because the 
land was like a garden in fertility. Abram remained in 
Canaan, and the Lord talked with him again, promising 
him all the land he could see east, west, north, and south; 
not an extensive region however, and far enough from 
being the whole land of Canaan. "And I will make thy 
seed as the dust of the earth." — v. 16. He was then told 
to walk through the length and breadth of the land. 
When land came to be thickly settled and bear a high 
price, had any one been told they might have all they 
could walk around, the severest fatigue would be endured 
for the sake of an extension of territory. Not so with 
the " Father of the Faithful," who did not covet more land 
than he could turn to account. 

Quite an extensive war, for the times, broke out between 
the contiguous tribes, in which Sodom was involved. A 
king called Chedorlaorner, with other kings — heads no 
doubt of neighboring tribes — obtained a great victory 
over Sodom and Gomorrah, taking all their property and 
provisions, including everything that Lot possessed. But 
Abram rescued Lot and his goods. On his return from 
this short but decisive campaign, marked attention was 
paid to the noted priest Melchizedek, who accepted a 
tenth of all his spoils. It was simply reverence on the 
part of the patriarch; and on the priest's side it expressed 
probably his purpose of invoking- blessings upon this 
generous and brave head of a rising race. Nor is there 



GENESIS— HAGAR— THE COVENANT 123 

anything- wrong in giving to priests now from what we 
have in abundance. They that minister to our spiritual 
wants are better entitled to pay than such as work for the 
body. 

Chapter sixteenth mentions the circumstance that Abram 
and Sarai were childless, much to his regret and her mor- 
tification. She advised a most singular course, which 
was to cohabit with her boud-woman Hagar. So good 
a man's yielding to such base counsel can only be 
excused by the actual necessity of continuing the chosen 
family, and the indulgent view of such connections where 
polygamy is in fashion. He did yield, and the result was 
that Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram, who consented after- 
wards to Sarai's driving her into the wilderness, where 
she nearly perished with her brave boy. Thus we see 
how it fares with the unfortunate, and how disposed those 
are who lead others astray, to desert them in the hour of 
trial. An angel of the Lord is said to have told Hagar 
that this son of hers should be a wild man— his hand 
against every man, and every man's hand against him. 
Her seed was also to be multiplied to the extent that it 
could not be numbered. 

Chapter XVII. Abram was now ninety-nine years old; 
and the Lord again confirms what is known as the Cove- 
nant, which seemed to be made stronger by being repeated 
afresh. At this interview Abram was told to take a new 
name, and make himself known in future as Abraham, 
because he was to be the father of many. The whole land 
was to be his, and his seed's after him. He was no 
stranger as would seem from the eighth verse, but well 



124 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

acquainted in all that region. Much labor has been 
bestowed on the promises reiterated again and again in 
the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters, to show that they 
were all to be literally fulfilled: "And God said unto Abra- 
ham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and 
thy seed after thee, in their generations. This is my cov- 
enant, which ye shall keep, between me and you, and thy 
seed after thee: Every man-child among you shall be cir- 
cumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your 
foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt 
me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be cir- 
cumcised among you, every man-child in your generations, 
he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any 
stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy 
house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs 
be circumcised; and my covenant shall be in your flesh for 
an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man- 
child, whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that 
soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my 
covenant. And God said unto Abraham, as for Sarai thy 
wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall 
her name be. * * And Abraham was ninety years old 
and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his 
foreskin." The wonder is why so singular a seal of piety 
was adopted; why too it has never been repeated by such 
Christian sects as are anxious to retain every ancient rite 
and observance. The Jews will certainly never neglect 
it so long as one of that loyal race remains upon earth, a 
living witness to the truth of so much of this ancient 
record. It seems it was administered also to his whole 



GENESIS— ANGELS DINE WITH ABRAHAM. 125 

household, even his slaves. The Mohammedans practice 
the same custom in imitation of their great leader, and the 
Abyssinian Christians observe it too. 

Chapter eighteen brings the Lord again to visit Abra- 
ham, manifesting the peculiar intimacy he was believed to 
enjoy with the Deity, and the childlike ease with which he 
received supernatural communications. Here it was in 
the middle of the day, and in the garb of three men, at 
his tent door, that the assurance of Sarah's speedily 
becoming a mother was given. To make the account more 
difficult for our comprehension, when the patriarch mani- 
fests his hospitality by preparing an abundant dinner 
they did not fail to partake of it. After eating, they made 
the announcement — which Sarah evidently thought too 
good to be true — and then repeated the promise that Abra- 
ham should become a great and might} 7 nation, and all the 
nations of the earth should be blessed in him: "Yea, I 
will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings 
of people shall be of her." And, to add to our perplexity, 
when the men went away toward Sodom, as verse twenty- 
first tells us, Abraham stood yet before the Lord. The 
three messengers then were distinct in his mind from the 
Deity so that they could go away while Jehovah remained. 
Yet the New Testament assures us that no man hath 
seen God at any time. Then again, these Divine messen- 
gers are represented (verse 21) as going to Sodom to see 
if the rumor of its wickedness is not false; as if they were 
obliged to travel from place to place to obtain information 
by which to direct the judgments of God. The most 
ingenious explanation of this perplexing passage is by 



126 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Rev. Dr. F. H. Hedge: He believes it to be an idyl of 
unknown authorship and unknown antiquity, whose chief 
aim is to glorify Abraham and his favored progeny, the 
race of Israel, by illustrating his unparalleled friendship 
with Jehovah Here was a Hebrew, the great leader of 
mankind, the first Monotheist, the earliest person in history 
of any account, favored not only by a prolonged visit from 
Deity and by being treated with the regard due to exalted 
virtue, but promises are showered upon him which spread 
the angel wing of Providence over his whole posterity. 

Chapter nineteenth presents an awfnl contrast: Lot's 
house is surrounded by sons of Belial while giving entertain- 
ment to two angels. With a very noble hospitality, he offers 
his daughter as a substitute for the strangers. But the 
rioters are struck with blindness and the guests are left- 
undisturbed. Then came the merited destruction upon this 
guilty city and its neighbor. Lot fled with his household. 
His wife, gazing wistfully back, is changed into a pillar 
of salt, which fanciful travelers imagine they see now not 
far from the Dead Sea. Perhaps this was not merely the 
punishment of curiosity; as they were entering- a range 
of dreary mountains she might have murmured and turned 
back, preferring as Israel did "the pleasures of sin for a 
season" to the struggle for life in a region colder and more 
barren. In return for the kindness of Lot, the two angels 
forewarned him of this terrible rain of fire and brimstone, 
and cautioned him to watch for his own safety and that of 
his family. Abraham looked toward Sodom the next day, 
and behold it was a heap of smoking ruins. Lot went up 
to Zoar and dwelt in a cave, with the same two daughters 



GENESIS— ABRAHAM' S DUPLICITY. 12? 

before mentioned. In this cave the two girls are said to 
have committed a most outrageous crime by getting their 
father drunk that they might escape the shame of barren- 
ness, and their design was accomplished. Thus, the only 
righteous man in all that city of Sodom allows himself to 
get beastly drunk that he may be made the instrument of 
a grosser crime. This story will bear no scrutiny, and for 
the sake of truth and decency the less we say about it the 
better. Think of Lot acting so basely and his poor wife, 
turned to a pillar of salt, standing by the wayside! 

Abraham goes to Gerar, where he again made a false 
statement by calling his wife his sister, and gained largely 
by the deception. Abimelech was caught in the trap set 
by Abraham, and gladly sent him away with an increase 
of wealth. The honesty of the historian in preserving 
details so little honorable to his revered ancestor, cannot 
be admired too much. 

The number of barren women spoken of, though not 
large, may claim a passing notice. If they were childless 
for a time they all finally became mothers. From Abra- 
ham down through many generations, the lack of children 
was thought to be in consequence of the wickedness of 
one parent or the other; hence they sought to propitiate 
the favor of heaven by prayer and sacrifice. Superstition 
held almost universal sway at that date. Among the 
strange fancies of the time was the idea that God was 
going about the world personally attending to the affairs 
of men — conversing with them as to their duty, and 
informing thorn of what would come to pass. 

Chapter twenty-second gives us the remarkable story 



128 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

about Abram's fancying he was commanded by the Lord 
to make a sacrificial offering of his son Isaac; which he 
did not do. On account of Abraham's taking steps to 
perform this act, he has been greatly commended. But in 
order to decide what amount of credit should be given 
him, it is well to look for the evidence of the fact. Un- 
fortunately there is none other but the parties themselves. 
At most we have their word for it. 

Chapter XXIV. Abraham believing that his death was 
at hand, was naturally anxious to procure a wife for his 
son from his own kindred; and so he dispatched his stew- 
ard on this confidential mission, who returns in due sea- 
son with the beautiful Rebecca, his grand-niece. Though 
forty years old, Isaac obeyed implicitly, resigned his heart 
to the bestowal of his father's favorite servant, and seems 
to have found all the happiness which so gentle a nature 
could ask. He went out to evening-meditation as the car- 
avan were expected which was to determine the blessed- 
ness or misery of his home-life. Dr. Hedge thinks this 
was peculiarly his character which he. gave to his race — 
that the religion of his people was to be distinguished by 
this inwardness — and that through Isaac monotheism 
found its full expression in silent thought and devout as- 
piration. 

Rebecca proved to be one of the kind called barren, and 
really was so for a time; but ere long she bore twins, 
Esau and Jacob. 

Chapter XXVI. Another famine came on in the land of 
Canaan, and the people (as had been their habit), sought 
food in Egypt, the neighboring kingdom. Isaac journeyed 



GENESIS-CHEATING ESAU. 129 

there as his father did before him, and told the same kind 
of false story, saying- his wife was his sister, and prof- 
ited greatly by the artifice. This kind of trick seems to 
have been a family trait. 

Chapter XXVII. Jacob and his mother contrived how 
they could cheat Esau out of his birth right and the bless- 
ing that belonged to him; and, according to the story, 
were perfectly successful. The blessing seems to have 
been equally valuable although obtained by fraud. 

Chapter XXVIII. Isaac tells his son Jacob all the par- 
ticulars about the promise the Lord made to his grand- 
father Abram, and lays stress upon it as a matter of great 
moment, never to be lost sight of. Isaac also directs him 
to go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel, his mother's 
father, for a wife. 

Chapter XXX. Instead of sending some one to court 
for him, Jacob started out himself. Rachel was easily 
found, and a bargain made with her father by which the 
suitor agreed to give seven years' faithful service for the 
fair damsel. At the end of the term Laban deceived his 
son-in-law by putting Leah in the bridal-chamber, and 
after that requiring him to serve seven years more for 
Rachel. In the end, Jacob made up for this unfairness, 
and departed without Laban's knowledge with a herd of 
cattle, his wives, and what Laban prized highly, his house- 
hold Gods. 

Chapter XXXIII. After all this treachery, angels fol- 
low him on his fugitive journey, and try to comfort him. 
He is greatly distressed for fear that Esau would revenge 
the theft of the birth right and the blessing:. That lie 



130 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

might not be discouraged, the promises made to his father 
and grandfather are all recounted; for neither they nor 
their descendants ever became weary of talking about 
the great and precious promises. As a kind of capital 
stock, this was at all times available to soothe their afflic- 
tions, and cheer them in calamity. 

All that happened among the descendants of Abraham 
up to the time they departed from Canaan, on account of 
the famine which distressed them so severely, would not 
be interesting, and is therefore passed by. The whole 
record as we have it shows perfect freedom from any de- 
sire to keep back any thing, however bad it might seem. 
Considering the time the Old Testament first appeared in 
any regular form, it was next to impossible to prevent the 
incorporation of some untruths with the great body of 
fact. The whole as it is, looks like an honest relation 
made by honest parties with an unmistakable desire to 
benefit its readers. To sa} r it is all the express " word of 
God" is not only going too far, it is going against unques- 
tionable facts. A more modest claim is better calculated 
to do good. And still we contend that all truth every 
where is God's truth; and that it all conies from and is 
His inspiration. The promise made so repeatedly to Abram 
and his descendants is now considered the most important 
that was ever made known; connected as it is said to be 
with the fall of Adam and the world's redemption by 
Jesus of Nazareth. 

We do not understand that Abram had any considera- 
ble amount of property in Ur of the Chaldees, or at his 
temporary abode in Canaan at Sichem. His disposition 



GENESIS— JOSEPH AND THE FAMINE 13 1 

was somewhat of the roving order, an adventurer, with 
wild notions mixed with superstition and a little vanit}'. 
The imagination that great things were in store for him, 
led to the principal changes of his life. The going from 
Ur, his birth place, by God's especial command, would be 
in our view his being led by earnest convictions of duty. 
His impressions that he ought to migrate were so strong 
that they seemed to him supernatural. Jacob also was 
inclined to wander about the country. This sort of Ara- 
bian life was a general thing with the immediate descend- 
ants of Abram. It harmonized with their occupation as 
shepherds. 

B. C. 1720. Chapter XXXVII. Joseph having attained 
his 11th year, and his father showing much partiality for 
him, his elder brothers became extremely envious. Even 
at this early age he exhibited many traits which were 
the presage of future greatness. He told to his father's 
family a singular dream of his, which they thought indi- 
cated his rule over them in after years. This increased 
the jealousy and hatred of his brothers to a high degree. 
Swept along by their unnatural passions, they conceived 
a plan for ridding themselves of this insolent upstart, 
perhaps of taking his life. The whole story from the 
first is familiar to the Bible-reading world, and all its 
thrilling incidents, interesting plots and counter plots; 
but, many are undecided whether to receive it all as an 
actual experience. Joseph, like other boys, was no doubt 
in the habit of dreaming, and in harvest time might nat- 
urally dream about the sheaves of grain. If the whole 
relation was founded on fact, after Joseph attained his 



132 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

high position in Egypt the early incidents were doubtless 
magnified and embellished. As the son of that patriarch 
Jacob, who to this day is held in high esteem, something 
might have been expected of Joseph. In any way to 
mar the force of a story so well told would be unwar- 
rantable. It makes one of the most interesting parts of 
Jewish annals. Certainly revelations by dreams are not 
impossible. The action of mind in our sleeping hours is 
one of those mysteries no one is able to explain. The fre- 
quency of their introduction, not only in the Old Testa- 
ment but in the New, is evidence of the high regard in 
which they were held. Joseph's brethren do not cease to 
plot against him, and only wait for an opportunity to 
carry out their plans for his destruction. They hesitate 
about taking his life, and sell him as a slave to a caravan 
of Ishmaelites, who carry him to Egypt, where he is made 
a servant in the house of Potiphar, whose wife attempts 
to lead him astray. He withstood all her entreaties, and 
in revenge for his resistance, she caused him to be impris- 
oned on false charges. From this confinement he is re- 
leased in consequence of being able to interpret two 
dreams, which also put him in the way of giving expla- 
nations to others, showing both profound and prophetic 
knowledge. Much notoriety was gained in a short time 
in this way throughout the realm. To increase Joseph's 
growing influence, another opportunity came when he was 
told by Pharaoh that he had dreamed what seemed to him 
inexplicable in regard to ears of corn, some of which 
were well filled and others shriveled. Joseph tells him at 
once what to expect. Seven years of plenty were to be 



GENESIS— JOSEPH AND THE FAMINE 133 

succeeded by seven years of great dearth throughout all 
the land of Egypt; which history tells us proved to be a 
true prediction. Full particulars are omitted here for the 
reasons before given. 

Dreams and their interpretations by Joseph bring these 
night-visions prominently before us as prophetic, and as 
constituting a revelation of God's purpose regarding 
the children of men. From that time judgments and im- 
pending calamities were foreshadowed by dreams with un- 
erring certainty. No part of the Bible was more implicit- 
ly relied on that what related to these visions which were 
thought especially the direct word from heaven. Nothing 
was too dark to be solved by a dream. So important to 
mankind was this medium of spiritual communication, 
that though prophetic powers ceased more than four cen- 
turies before Christianity, yet dreaming continued in fa- 
vor a long time after, and was in full tide of success in 
the apostles' day. Now, young boys and maidens dream, 
and matters of love and wedlock are presaged in sleep. 
We have, too, what are called dream-books to aid the sim- 
ple in their interpretations; but the idea that dreams hap- 
pening now are revelations from God, is generally dis- 
carded. There is an ever active spirit which often 
visits us unconsciously in the night-watches, giving us 
as plain views and impressing them as deeply on the 
mind as if we were awake. Spiritualists are laughed at 
for believing that deceased friends communicate with 
them. Letting this matter of dreams pass, we resume the 
story. 

The famine came on, extending not only over Egypt, 

BlO 



134 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

but to the countries near by. In Canaan nothing" had 
been done in the way of preparation for such an event, 
for the reason probably all was consumed as they went 
along, or the people were too poor to lay up in store. 

The prediction of Joseph about the famine might not 
have reached Canaan; or if it had, it failed to be credited 
as likely to have any fulfillment. Prospects of starvation 
soon drove the Canaanites to Egypt for the purchase of 
food, and the family of the patriarch among the rest. 
Circumstances unfolded themselves in the regular train as 
all have read, and in due time Joseph makes himself known 
to his brethren. The relation of this scene is a beautiful 
specimen of the touching and pathetic — a charmingly- 
woven record of family reunion. Many tears have been 
shed at its rehearsal by those not lacking in courage, 
energy or sense. 

Israel or Jacob took with him his entire substance on 
leaving Canaan — his sons and daughters with their de- 
scendants, his cattle, and all his goods. 

Chapter XXXVI. They are numbered: And all that 
went down into Egypt from Canaan are stated to have 
been three score and ten souls, three score and six of 
whom came out of the loins of Jacob. Colenso says this 
account is not correct, as Hezron and Hamul (who are 
included with the rest as going to Egypt), died in Canaan, 
as also Er and Onan. Therefore the whole number could 
have been only sixty-six. This is considered undoubted 
proof of the unreliability of the Pentateuch record. 

The remark is often made that we must not question 
the scriptures. Much depends on the way this is under- 



GENESIS— ERRORS OF THE RECORD. 135 

stood. In speaking of an individual who has many good 
qualities and some bad ones, do we talk against the man 
by noticing his faults ? Or is it proper to commend what 
is evidently wrong-, from fear of disturbing what is good 
and right ? Nothing should ever be said against that 
good and truthful portion of the Bible called the Old 
Testament, which has edified so many, and led them along 
with thankfulness through the changing scenes of life, 
and given them a confiding trust in death. The beauty 
of thousands of passages found in these records — old as 
they are — may well be dwelt upon for a lifetime. But, 
that there are errors in the record is quite evident to every 
careful reader, and it is high time that they were exposed 
in order to be corrected. All should read us searchers 
after truth and detectors of what is not reasonably true. 
Whoever takes the Bible in hand with a settled determi- 
nation to believe all he reads, may enjoy more than those 
who stop to think and calculate whether it is all true to 
the letter. But, some must and will use the reason God 
gave them for the express purpose of being used. Without 
stopping to consider the state of society so far back, and 
estimating the wide difference between Moses' time and 
the present, we are unable to make due allowance for 
many of the errors in records coining from such remote 
ages and passing through so many hands. But, for all 
that, the great history of the world — of which tin; Jewish 
writings make a part — is something of a connected chain 
of which the honest soul can keep fast hold, though some- 
times with difficulty. 



136 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

EXODUS. 

AMONG other important events in Bible history, the 
Exodus claims particular attention. 
B. C. 1491. By the ordinary estimate, this is the year 
in which Moses made the preliminary movement to release 
the Israelites from bondage, and completed his task. Be- 
fore entering- upon the consideration of this book, there is 
an obvious necessity of finding out as near as may be 
what "Magician" and "Magic" mean. Magi is a term 
in use to denote a caste of priests among the Persians: 
hence holy men or sages of the east. Magic is hidden 
wisdom, the occult powers of nature, and the production 
of effects by their agency; performances done by enchant- 
ment or sorcery; the supposed assistance of evil spirits. 
Incantation signifies the art of using certain formulas 
of words and certain ceremonies for supernatural effect. 
The most expressive and inclusive word to use in relation 
to wonder-working incantations, is Thaumaturgy; it is in 
fact the Greek of our English. In Persia the priests have 
had the most to do with this sort of jugglery, in order to 
convince the people of their superiority, and awe them into 
submission to their behests. They resolved to make it felt 



EXODUS. 13 % 

that their powers were derived from other than human 
sources; in fact that their commission was directly from 
God. This must be kept in mind and influence our esti- 
mate of what was done in Egypt by Moses, as well as by 
the wizards of Pharaoh. We must not lose sight of the 
fact that this professedly supernatural wonder-working 
by the Persian priests was long before Moses, and very 
likely before the patriarchs. So, in order to obtain an ex- 
alted stand-point, it was all important to be able to do 
these things; and the more they could be made to astonish 
mankind, the more was their worker esteemed God's ac- 
credited agent. By this we see how the doing of mighty 
works was considered a test not merely of piety, but of 
Divine authority. Moses would have failed utterly in his 
work without the aid of thaumaturgy, — without it the 
Jewish religion would have had a very short life. As far 
back as we can go, it was the voice of God in the air, in 
a dream, by the way side, in the burning bush, or cloud on 
the mountain top, or flash of lightning that attested the 
Divine presence; many times it was the loss of a battle 
or the fall of a kingdom. Turn which way we will, these 
wonders are constantly before us ; so interwoven are they 
with ancient history that hardly anything takes place 
without their help. But who among us understands what 
miracle is exactly ? Who can tell the time when legerde- 
main was not common in the East, and practiced as it is 
now to deceive the world ? 

Moses, a man of rare ability, of profound study and un- 
bounded faith in supernatural aid, found himself confront- 
ed with an ancient order of wonder-workers, who mim- 



138 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

icked all his spiritual manifestations. They seem to have 
followed him with equal step as he went on showing the 
seals of a Divine mission. The Jewish interpretation 
(which we can adopt or not), is that they imitated on a 
small scale what he did on a large; that they did by 
trick, and before Pharaoh alone, what Moses performed in 
reality and before all Egypt. Some of the plagues which 
he produced, as that of flies and locusts, are common in, 
that country to-day; others, like the making a serpent as- 
stiff as a stick, are to be seen yet in that very region, and 
the plague of lice will never leave the land. But it was- 
not till the Israelites were seen to be free from the death- 
stroke (which had befallen the first born of the Egyp- 
tians), that the frightened masters cried out for the de- 
parture of their slaves, and the Pharaoh of that period,. 
Thothmes III, gave orders by night that they should go. 

The first grand object which confronted these suddenly 
dismissed servants after crossing the dreaded sea, was a 
lofty mountain of several peaks in the midst of a desert, 
one summit of which was named Horeb, or Mount of God, 
As mountains seem to pierce the heavens and actually en- 
joy more light than the valleys, all primitive nations have 
always venerated them as peculiarly Divine abodes, have 
universally hallowed them with altars, and sought celes- 
tial communications on their summits. Moses was per- 
fectly right in doing this. A horde of brick-making slaves 
with hardly any more religion than a blind instinct, ever 
ready to rebel against any kind of authority, naturally 
preferring some outward object of worship (even if it 
were a calf), required to be awed by the majesty of Na- 



EXODUS. 139 

ture while a new and severe moral law was to be en- 
graved into their rude souls. In this difficult problem of 
raising a fearfully depressed people to the moral grandeur 
of freemen, their great Lawgiver was bound to bring all 
natural influences to bear — to transport these unruly sub- 
jects amidst the solemnity of the desert, beneath the awe- 
inspiring mountains, into the very realm of thunder that 
their frivolous minds might be awed and their slumbering 
consciences aroused. 

It is because of a false pride about the origin of our 
Christian religion, that some writers have absurdly exag- 
gerated the moral condition of these brick-making bonds- 
men. The Gospel is no more responsible for what took 
place before even Judaism existed, than for what may be 
going on now beyond our solar system ! Their fickleness 
of faith, their proneness to idolatry, their cowardice at the 
beginning of their career, and their presumption after- 
wards, can only be explained by the degradation inevita- 
ble upon slavery, and intensest in tropical regions. Le- 
roux, the French philosopher, has given us a key to much 
which followed, when lie says God took a nation from the 
foot of the social ladder to show us how much religion 
alone could work in man's elevation. 

That the Israelites went down to Egypt on account of 
the famine, and ultimately became enslaved, is not to be 
doubted; nor that Moses was a man of rare ability, who 
not only delivered them from their enemies by consum- 
mate skill, but gave them position in the world as a na- 
tion of freedmen, and therefore became their spiritual 
creator. In this nineteenth century of light and knowl- 



140 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

edge, none but the most credulous will suppose that 
Moses omitted to avail himself of whatever superior 
knowledge of nature his powerful mind had appropriated 
under the teaching of the most scientific priesthood in the 
ancient world, or by the later counsels of the Midianite 
sage. The whole story is of interest enough to warrant 
our taking it up in detail. 

Chapter first tells us that, including Joseph, all the souls 
which went from Canaan to Egypt were seventy; as we 
have shown in another place it is quite plain there was only 
sixty-six or sixty-eight, we see how carelessly these impor- 
tant facts are given, rather as children tell their experien- 
ces to one another than as history is written. After the 
death of Joseph, a new king arose, who treated the Israel- 
ites with great severity, and left his name recorded upon 
some of the bricks of that time. Task-masters were set 
over them to extort hard service in building cities, and 
various other ways. In spite of this, they increased rap- 
idly, as most people do who are compelled to labor. The 
more they were afflicted, the faster was their increase; to 
the great annoyance of Pharaoh and his people. In every 
possible way therefore their lives were made bitter. To 
prevent the Hebrew increase, a most cruel and wicked 
expedient was adopted; even the destruction of all the 
male children as soon as they were born. But the mid- 
wives failed to obey this command of the ruling Pharaoh, 
for the kindness of their womanly hearts revolted at so 
atrocious a crime, and their natural ingenuity framed an 
excuse for not executing the order. Baffled in this first 
attempt, Pharaoh resolved to be more thorough in his next 



EXODUS. 141 

plan; and gave orders that all males born of the He- 
brews be cast into the river, but the daughters saved alive. 

Chapter II. Moses was born, and a kind Providence 
caused him to be preserved in an ark of bulrushes, and 
to be taken up by Pharaoh's daughter, who cared for him 
tenderly as a mother, and gave him the name he bore, 
signifying " drawn out." When Moses had grown to man- 
hood, he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew; the future 
redeemer of Israel seeing no observers, gave way to his 
vindictive passion and killed the aggressor. But the next 
day, when he endeavored to separate two of his own 
nation who strove together, one of them told him to look 
out that he did not slay somebody, as he had done the day 
before. This coming to the ears of Pharaoh, he thought 
to take the life of Moses, who quickly fled from Egypt to 
a place near Mount Sinai, called Midian, where he fell in 
with a priest who had seven daughters, one of whom, 
called Zipporah, he took to wife. Soon they had a son and 
named him Gershom, that is a "stranger," as he was born 
in a strange land. 

Even the death of a king of Egypt at this time did not 
lighten the bondage under which the children of Israel 
sighed and groaned. And why should it in a land where 
slavery seems natural to the soil ? But God we are told 
heard their groaning, remembered his covenant with Abra- 
ham, Isaac, and Jacob, and felt compassion for them. 

Chapter III. Moses performed the duties of shepherd 
for his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, on the farther 
side of the mountain of God, called Horeb. And here it 
was that he imagined he saw a bush burn without being 



142 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

consumed. This was not all: a voice from the bush 
repeated his name and announced himself, not as God of 
all the earth, but as God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
The cry of suffering had come up to Him from His people 
in Egypt, and He had come down to deliver them, and 
bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey. The 
proposition is then made for Moses to go to Pharaoh and 
bring the children of Israel away from the place of their 
oppression. As if struggling with his own conscience, as 
no doubt he did, Moses questions his ability to do such a 
thing; whereupon the voice said He would go with him, 
and they should serve the God of their fathers on that 
mountain. Moses explains the necessity of his having the 
name of this spirit from whom such directions came; the 
answer was: " I Am that I Am." Therefore he was to say 
to the Israelites: " I Am hath sent me, the God of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob." Moses was to go and gather the elders 
of Israel together and tell them, what seems to have been 
the ever-present theme, that "the God of Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob had appeared to him, on account of the suffer- 
ings of His people, and promised to bring them up out of 
Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey." He was 
to begin his work of getting this great party — generally 
estimated at two million — away from their oppressors, 
first of all by the pretence of a necessity of a three days' 
journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to their God; 
though no probability existed that Pharaoh would consent 
to such a thing, yet it would serve to begin the miraculous 
appeals that were to be made, which would at last enable 
them to get away not only safely, but with a large amount 



EXODUS. 143 

of borrowed treasures from their Egyptian neighbors. It 
is not in the least likely that the slave-masters loaned their 
jewels, nor that the bondsmen took them by force; it is 
almost certain that the panic-stricken mourners over such 
sudden deaths desired to propitiate the terrible Deity whom 
they had incensed by degrading his servants and worship- 
ers. Of course it is not possible that the righteous God 
ever directed his people to steal, which such borrowing 
would amount to. 

Chapter IV. The mind of Moses was naturally exer- 
cised in view of his important mission, from the time he 
first saw the burning bush; especially with the fear that 
whatever story he told would not be credited. The Lord 
at once began with him the working of wonders: "And 
the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand ? And 
he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And 
he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent: and 
Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, 
Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put 
forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his 
hand." — iv, 2, 3, 4. Moses was to do this before the Israel- 
ites as the first wonder in the line of his extensive opera- 
tions in thaumaturgy. This was to be the convincing 
argument that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was 
by some means determined to deliver them. Moses put 
his hand into his bosom, and on taking it out, lo! it was 
leprous; putting it in again it became as his natural flesh. 
This was another lesson in his new calling to be used in 
convincing the people that extraordinary power was given 
him. This power we are to infer came from God, as did 



144 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

the authority to work other wonders of which we shall 
hereafter speak. Of the character of these marvelous 
things, by the doing" of which it would seem that all the 
laws of our universe were set at naught, much might be 
said. That the order of nature should be thrown into 
confusion to enable Moses to pilot the Hebrews out of the 
land where they dwelt in the honest worship of God to 
die in unbelief, as a whole generation did, is indeed very 
strange and inexplicable. The next performance to which 
Moses' attention was called, consisted in pouring water 
from the river upon the dry land which at once became 
blood. Moses was still lacking in faith because of the 
intrinsic difficulty of the work, and objected that he was 
slow of speech and tongue. The Lord told him He would 
be in his mouth. This quieted his mind somewhat. The 
Lord was provoked at the doubts he expressed, and told 
him that his brother Aaron would gladly give him aid, be 
his spokesman, and teach him what to do. All this seems 
to have passed through the mind of Moses while he was 
on the mountain of Horeb. After this he visited his father- 
in-law and told him he was about to start for Egypt. 
Jethro said: " Go in peace." Moses, with his wife and 
children, started on, not omitting to carry the wonder- 
working rod. God commanded him to perform all his 
wonderful feats before Pharaoh; but that He would con- 
tinue to harden the heart of Pharaoh, so that he would 
not let the people go. God calls Israel His son; and 
Pharaoh was to be asked to bestow this mercy upon the 
children of Jehovah. 

"And it came to pass by the way, in the inn, that the 



EXODUS. 145 

Lord met him and sought to kill him." — iv, 24. That is, a 
disease so violent as to threaten the boy's life apprised the 
parent of his neglect. This verse and the 25th and 26th 
are peculiarly hard to understand: "Then Zipporah took a 
sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast 
it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou 
to me. So he let him go; then she said, A bloody husband 
thou art, because of the circumcision." 

Aaron met Moses in the wilderness — a divine impulse, 
perhaps some sympathy with his sublime enterprise, having 
prompted Aaron to anticipate his approach. Immediately 
upon his arrival at the scene of action, the elders were 
gathered together to hear what Moses had to say. Aaron 
was the mouth-piece, and with his first speech so far as we 
know, favorably impressed his hearers. When the signs 
were performed which were the seals of his divine mission, 
the company bowed their heads and worshiped; the first 
mention made of this attitude in devotion. 

Chapter V. Moses and Aaron went directly to Pharaoh 
with a request that he would let the Hebrews go, who are 
understood to be God's people. Hence the words so often 
repeated as from heaven, " Let my people go." Pharaoh 
asked, evidently with surprise, what they meant by "their 
God;" for he had some faith in an Infinite Being — a 
belief which had been entertained for many centuries. 
His temples being filled with images is no proof that the 
Great Supreme was not really adored in that land. We 
see at the start, and farther on will see more plainly, that 
the Israelites considered that their own Deity was their 
special protector, extending no favor to any other people 



146 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

or land. The first proposal is made, as Moses designed, 
before he left Midian. Leave is asked to go three days 
journey into the wilderness to sacrifice unto their God, 
in the fear that if they did not He might destroy them by 
pestilence or the sword. Pharaoh could easily see through 
that device, for it was really the weakest one they could 
have contrived. Just as though he would let all that mul- 
titude of laborers go forth to enjoy perfect freedom, certain 
as he was that with three' days start their chances for 
escape were excellent! Thereupon Pharaoh determined 
to look more closely after them ; and to prevent the idle- 
ness which favors murmuring, he exacted more work, and 
obliged each one to find his own straw. This was nothing 
more than other rulers would have done in like circum- 
stances. Moses and Aaron had stirred up the people, and 
filled their heads with the notion that their God was about 
to make provision for them in a better land; so it is easy 
to see they had no desire to work for Pharaoh as bondsmen 
in the brick-yards. Both the Israelites and Pharaoh knew 
the struggle would be a hard one, and each prepared for 
it as best they could. When the officers of the children 
of Israel complained to Pharaoh of the additional task, he 
told them they were idle and wanted to go away to sacri- 
fice. Nothing was gained by entreaty. The same task 
of brick was required. The committee who returned from 
Pharaoh with such ill success naturally cast the blame on 
Moses and Aaron. 

Chapter VI. "God spake unto Moses and said unto 
him, I am the Lord. And I appeared unto Abraham, unto 
Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but 



EXODUS. 14T 

by my name Jehovah was I not known." — vi, 2, 3. The 
name given to Moses at Mount Horeb was " I Am that I 
Am," or simply " I Am." The covenant is again alluded 
to by which they were to possess the whole of Canaan: 
and He was to be their God, and they his people. Matters 
went on so slowly in regard to their escape that the people 
became exceeding impatient. We are not to forget the 
danger to the Egyptian government of having two million 
of strangers in the heart of the country in any condition 
except vassalage. If we do not keep this in mind we 
shall be signally unjust to Pharaoh. Many of the im- 
portant privileges of citizenship were denied for the pur- 
pose of keeping them submissive, lessening of course the 
chances of escape thereby. The history says that God 
told Moses he would bring them out by his armies. How 
in a state of slavery were they to keep up organizations, 
to inaugurate discipline, get accustomed to manoeuvring 
and the use of arms ? Had Moses lacked a superior edu- 
cation, had he faltered in his faith of divine help, or been 
unskilled in the mysteries of thaumaturgy, his mission 
would have been abandoned at once. Many at this day 
believe that all he did was by the express power of God, 
who qualified him to perform works that none had even 
attempted before; in short that they were miracles wrought 
by God himself. The Israelites anxiously desired to get 
away from Egypt that they might occupy that goodly land 
flowing with milk and honey, where they would enjoy 
plenty with freedom instead of poverty with bondage. 
The constant and entirely unnecessary repetition of the 
word "Lord," "Lord God," "The Lord spake unto Moses 



148 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

saying, Speak to the children of Israel," in this book sadly 
mars the beauty of composition. The object seemed to 
be to impress upon both foes and friends that Moses was 
at all times led by God and instructed from heaven. To 
increase their confidence in him to the fullest extent, the 
Lord is represented as saying that Moses was made a God 
to Pharaoh, with Aaron for a prophet. This promotion 
Moses and those under him believed to be real. 

Chapter VII. And now began the contest for suprem- 
acy in the art of thaumaturgy between Moses, assisted by 
Aaron, and the sorcerers and magicians of Egypt. Moses 
was eighty years old, in full strength and vigor, perfectly 
fitted for a great and lasting service. He was directed to 
show Pharaoh a miracle by the rod which Aaron carried: 
it became a serpent and then returned into the form of a 
rod again; and, very remarkably, Pharaoh's magicians did 
the self-same thing by their enchantments, so that no favor- 
able impression could have been made. Pharaoh's sor- 
cerers were not confined to one rod; they had a number, 
all of which were made to assume the serpent form; but 
Aaron's serpent is reported as having the advantage, as 
it swallowed up the others. Nothing was gained in the 
way of emancipation thus far. 

Moses kept repeating the statement that the Lord God 
said Pharaoh must let His people go, that they might serve 
Him; though they were not, so far as we know, at any 
time debarred from serving God as best suited them in 
Egypt. So that the desire to escape for this purpose was 
mere pretence. They wanted to get away because they 
did. Again, Moses went out to meet Pharaoh in the morn- 



EXODUS. 149 

ing near the river, and affirmed again that the Lord wished 
him to let His people go to serve Him in the wilderness; 
and that if Pharaoh did not he would turn the water of 
the river into blood that it could not be used, and that the 
fish should die. So Aaron stretched out his hand upon 
the waters of Egypt; and the streams, rivers, ponds, pools, 
all became blood through the land — also all that was 
standing in vessels ready for use. This was acting on 
a large scale, and really was an enormous miracle; but, 
what shall be said, when the record also affirms that the 
magicians of Egypt did just the same ! It may be noted 
also that the wording" is peculiar, " the magicians of 
Egypt did the same by their enchantments;" thus giving 
the reader to understand that Aaron did his work by en- 
chantment. All efforts to show that one was done by God 
any more than the other will be unavailing. Pharaoh 
seeing the result of all this, was no more inclined to let 
the Israelites go than before. After seven days the waters 
all came back naturally, that is to say, the enchantments 
were suspended. 

Chapter VIII. Again the message is repeated: "Let 
my people go;" if not, frogs should be sent so that all the 
houses would be filled, even the bed-chambers; and if 
any one slept at all it would be with frogs under them. 
So Aaron stretched forth his hand over the waters of 
Egypt, the rivers, ponds, and pools, and the frogs came up 
and covered the land. Just nothing, however, was gained 
by this, for the magicians of Pharaoh copied him exactly. 
But Pharaoh seemed to dislike the frogs that Aaron as well 

as his own magicians had created in such uncomfortable 

ill 



150 . SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

abundance. He was not inclined to be a frog-eater. He 
therefore entreated Moses and Aaron to try and have their 
God abate the terrible nuisance. Moses promised to re- 
move them from all the waters except the river, the next 
day. Dead frogs, it seems, covered the whole land, and 
the putrefaction caused a stench horrid to bear and dan- 
gerous to the health. As before, when rid of the frogs, 
Pharaoh concluded to hold his bondsmen fast. Aaron had 
thus far only kept even with Pharaoh's magicians; but 
now he stretched out his hand, and with that famous rod 
smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in all the 
land. The magicians tried to do the same thing, and 
failed; confessing that it was only by the power of their 
God that Moses and Aaron could do such things. And 
yet, after this confession of failure in fair competition, 
Pharaoh was as obstinate as before. Again his consent is 
solicited to the departure of the people; and the next 
threatening is of a plague which will be confined to the 
Egyptians alone: " And I will sever in that day the land 
of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of 
flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I 
am the Lord in the midst of the earth." — v. 22. " And the 
Lord did so: and there came a grievous swarm of flies 
into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, 
and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by 
reason of the swarm of flies." — v. 24. These flies, which 
probably beset the face as they do now in Egypt, seriously 
alarmed the stubborn monarch, and he commanded Moses 
and Aaron to go into the wilderness three days' journey 
to their God; still, without consenting to their entire aban- 



EXODUS. 151 

donment of the country. Moses entreated the Lord, and 
the flies were removed ; but Pharaoh broke his word 
again. Moses and Aaron thought best to stop creating; 
to resort in fact to more severe measures. Pharaoh's 
magicians had been beaten in one case if no more. So 
much had been gained. The man must be infatuated 
who can believe implicitly that what is spoken of as 
having been done was all precisely as it appears in 
these legends of a remote age. Pure water was never 
turned into blood or made to swarm with frogs in an 
instant of time through hundreds of miles of territory. 
Moses and Aaron's performances go to make up a marvel- 
ous history of marvelous things which appeared to the 
Israelites to distinguish their early history beyond that of 
any other nation. But now the work of creation was dis- 
continued, and Moses and Aaron entered upon the oppo- 
site career of destruction. Possibly they did this with 
reluctance, for it is declared to be more pleasant to create 
than to destroy. But, as the story reads, they had no 
choice; they must move forward as the Lord God told 
them, without turning to the right hand or left. No 
matter how Pharaoh's heart was hardened, whether about 
half the time by the Lord and the other half by himself. 
Just such an amount had to be done before destruction 
came upon the principal oppressors of the chosen race. 

Chapter IX. " Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, 
let my people go that they may serve me." — v. 1 . In case 
of refusal a grievous murrain was to fall on all the Egyp- 
tian cattle, as it did; and they all died, while those of the 
Israelites went unharmed. Pharaoh still held out in his 



152 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

refusal to part with such a large amount of valuable pop- 
ulation. The next performance was throwing dust in the 
air, which caused boils to break out on Egyptian man and 
beast, from which again the Israelites were exempt. The 
magicians of Pharaoh failed to follow the example. The 
Lord told Moses to rise early in the morning and repeat to 
Pharaoh the same command as before; and to tell Pharaoh 
that he was only aiding the Lord to carry out His plans, 
for which object he was raised up. The promise was 
added that the next day there would be a grievous hail- 
storm. Moses then stretched forth his hand toward heav- 
en, and the hail came down, with the usual accompani- 
ment of thunder and lightning, extending through all the 
land upon man and beast and the cultivated fields, but not 
injuring the Hebrews at all. Pharaoh was much dis- 
turbed, and entreated Moses as usual to have the trouble 
abated, and then the people shall surely go. Moses wait- 
ed a little, and went out of the city, and as a matter of 
course the storm was over. Great damage had been done 
to the growing crop and the cattle that were not put 
under cover. Pharaoh saw it all, and looking up at the 
clear sky decided not to let the people go. Was it strange 
that his stubbornness is called supernatural ? 

Chapter X. The Lord said unto Moses: " Go in unto 
Pharaoh ! for, I have hardened his heart and the heart of 
his servants that I might show these signs before him." 
Moses and Aaron next threaten the vacillating king with 
swarms of locusts to eat up every thing in the land. 
Pharaoh told them to leave his presence; they answered 
plainly that when they did go away, old and young, flocks 



EXODUS. 153 

and herds should go together. Moses then stretched forth 
his hand over the land of Egypt, and the east wind blew 
all that day and night, and in the morning the locusts 
were upon them in the whole land so that Egypt was dark- 
ened with them, and every thing was destroyed. Pha- 
raoh sent for Moses, desiring forgiveness in a very penitent 
tone; and Moses, whose patience seems to have been in- 
exhaustible, entreats that this death may be taken away. 
The Lord answered him, and as the plague came with an 
east wind, it was blown away again by a west one. But 
the Lord hardened the despot's heart again; and he would 
not let the people go. A thick darkness that could be felt 
stretched over the land for three days ; but the children of 
Israel had light in their dwellings. Pharaoh seems to 
have been peculiarly humbled by this ; he offers to let the 
people go, leaving their flocks and herds behind; this 
Moses very justly refused, as it would have been condemn- 
ing many of them to perish, and animals were needed con- 
tinually for burnt-offerings. He decided that not a hoof 
should be left behind of all the cattle. But the Lord har- 
dened Pharaoh's heart and he still refused to let them go, 
and told Moses the next time they met that he would kill 
him. Moses replies partly in irony, and evidently as the 
next chapter says, " in great anger:" "Thou hast spoken 
well; I will see thy face again no more." 

Chapter XI. And the Lord said He would bring one 
more plague upon Egypt, and then Pharaoh would surely 
let His people go. To that end, general directions are 
given to the people of Israel as to their own conduct in 
the approaching crisis. This was to be the final appeal 



154 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

of blood. The main feature of this last act was that the 
first born in all the land should perish on a particular 
night, while no death at all should occur in Israel. This 
would overwhelm the Egyptians with terror so that they 
would drive out of the land this destructive element. And 
this sense of terror under the wrath of the Hebrew God 
would naturally move the Egyptians to buy the interces- 
sion of their former bondsmen with pearls and gold. But 
even this terrible threat was not heeded; the Lord har- 
dened Pharaoh's heart so that he would not consent to 
have them go. 

Chapter XII. The Israelites were therefore to proceed 
to put their own plans in execution. On the tenth day of 
that same month, ever after to be called the first month of 
the ecclesiastical year, and answering to our March, all 
the congregation of Israel were to take a lamb for every 
house of their fathers. This lamb was to be without blem- 
ish, a male of the first year; and they were to "keep it 
up " until the fourteenth day, and kill it at evening. The 
blood was to be sprinkled on the side-posts of the doors of 
their houses. The flesh was to be eaten that night, not 
raw or sodden, but roasted with fire. The remaining 
parts were to be consumed. The destroying angel was to 
pass round the night of the fourteenth, but, seeing the 
blood on the door-posts, would pass by. From this term 
came the passover, still kept as the great Jewish festival. 
For seven days after no leavened bread was to be eaten. 
Pharaoh in great distress went to Moses and Aaron to 
talk the matter over in the night of that memorable four- 
teenth day of Nisan. He bade them go away from among 



EXODUS. 155 

his people, and take their flocks and herds, and bless him. 
The precise number of the Jewish emigrants in this ex- 
traordinary flight after freedom, can never be known. 
Jewish statistics are often exaggerated, as the fifty thous- 
and and seventy Bethshemites slain for looking into the 
ark are reduced to seventy persons; but we shall adhere 
to the commonly received account of two millions of all 
ages. 

The order of march having been fixed, we should sup- 
pose that their inspired leader would be near the front as 
best acquainted with the way, and according to the his- 
tory divinely directed as to the halting- places. With him 
would be the whole force of pioneers, armed to resist a 
chance attack from some wandering freebooters; and 
those camp followers who were to make what provision 
they could of tents for the women, and water-troughs for 
the cattle which were following in such hordes. Half of 
the six hundred thousand men we should suppose would 
be all that could be spared from the chief point of danger 
at the rear. The women and children, the infirm and 
aged, would move on in the middle of the immense train. 
The flocks and herds might have traveled on parallel roads, 
as every one knows through that level and unfenced country 
no such tiling as our narrow lines of travel are known. 
But the best armed, the strongest and bravest, the Josh- 
uas and Calebs must have been where danger menaced, 
in the rear — towards the task-masters from whom they 
had fled. But certainly the preparation of such an utterly 
undisciplined mass to move forward with any regularity 
was a gigantic task. Extreme care and caution were 



156 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

necessary for fear of alarming the Egyptians, who were 
likely enough to again change their minds as they had so 
repeatedly done. They therefore aimed at perfect secrecy 
up to the last hour of their stay. The rulers of Egypt 
were too much like other people before and since to be en- 
tirely willing to let these bondsmen go. If such feelings 
had prevailed at first, under the provocation of such a 
half-armed mob, it could not be expected to last. Pha- 
raoh's reluctance in this matter is the last thing that ought 
to brand him with cruelty. His other faults were more 
glaring. The promises he made about releasing the Isra- 
elites were under a sort of duress, and could hardly be 
considered as binding in law. To say the least, prepara- 
tions for the first great passover were perfected, and the 
celebration performed under immense difficulties. It was 
to be eaten the night before starting, and if the whole 
number was 2,000,000, they required 150,000 male lambs 
all but a year old. By the ordinary course there would be 
as many females, or in all 300,000 of the first year. But 
we are not to suppose that all the male lambs of the first 
year were killed for the passover. The whole number 
may therefore be placed at 400,000 of the first year; so 
that to make the story hang together the number of sheep 
can not have been less than two million; and the proper 
amount of grazing land would be about two million of 
acres. Could the Israelites by the remotest possibility 
have held this vast extent of land for grazing ? Nor was 
this procuring of lambs for the passover the only difficulty. 
A population of two million that were to start on their 
journey the day after the passover (even if the thing had 



EXODUS. 15 \ 

been determined by Moses as early as the tenth), could 
not have been fully notified and all the particulars settled; 
and not one was to go out of the door of his house until 
the morning after this first passover. How then could 
they know what was taking place in the city, especially 
in the house of Pharaoh, until the summons came from 
their great leader? Then the borrowing of a large 
amount of jewelry, which seems to us to have been facili- 
tated by the terror of death, as explained in the thirty- 
third verse, could not have been possible without consid- 
erable notice. And the borrowing without any intention 
of returning, according to the popular version of the 
affair, would have been a strange crime for a people com- 
mencing a new career under the especial supervision of 
the Lord. Nor do we see any claim which these helpless 
bondsmen could have pressed, except that highest demon- 
stration of the Divine displeasure given only just before 
their start in the death of the Egyptian first-born. 

In their line of march this vast company must have oc- 
cupied more space than we commonly imagine. Esti- 
mates have been made showing that the two million people 
in their flight would have filled the available traveled ways 
for the space of fourteen miles; and the entire mass, with 
flocks and herds, twenty-one miles. The distance such a 
body of people could move in a day, with flocks, herds, 
and other incumbrances, did not exceed seven miles. So 
that, from the time the march began, at least three days 
intervened before the whole was in motion; or the fore 
front was about three days ahead of the extreme rear. 

And now as to the means of sustenance on the march, 



158 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

in addition to the dough in their kneading troughs. Very 
little was to be obtained on the way, part of which was 
through a barren region; and how were their numerous 
flocks to be fed ? People like them in bondage would not 
be expected to have the means of transporting large 
quantities of food for man and beast, nor to have laid up 
money with which to buy. It is hardly supposable that 
they obtained much by plundering the people along the 
route. Foraging would have been both difficult and 
dangerous. The fleeing party were too slow in their 
movements to escape the vengeance of those they might 
plunder. 

Chapter XII. " And the children of Israel journeyed 
from Rameses to Succoth 600,000 on foot that were men, 
besides children; and a mixed multitude and flocks and 
herds, even very much cattle." — v. 37. The time the}' had 
sojourned in Egypt (v. 40), is stated at 430 years; but in 
that case the time of Abram's making his first journey 
there must be embraced, and not the time of Jacob's going 
down with the seventy souls on account of the famine. 

Chapter XIII. " And they took their journey from Suc- 
coth and encamped in Etham in the edge of the wilder- 
ness." — v. 20. The third night they encamped before Pi- 
hahiroth by the Red Sea, rather an out-of-the-way place, 
chosen by them no doubt that if Pharaoh decided on pur- 
suit they would not be easily found. The exact distance 
traveled by the Israelites from the city of their own build- 
ing is not known, and we make no attempt to give it. 
There were two routes leading to the Red Sea, but they 
did not take the most direct. 



EXODUS. 159 

Chapter XIV. Pharaoh, hearing of their departure, the 
Lord having hardened his heart, decided to pursue them. 
Knowing this, the Israelites were in great alarm. Fear 
overwhelmed them, as they were undisciplined, poorly 
armed, and encumbered with women and children. Her- 
odotus says the regular force of the King of Egypt at 
that time was only about 160,000 men; a number that 
might be thought exceedingly small. This army of Pha- 
raoh made an imposing appearance: with burnished arms, 
splendid banners, martial music, and all the pride of cer- 
tain victory. Six hundred chosen chariots were there; 
indeed all the chariots of Egypt. It was a sight to terrify 
the fugitives; for their 600,000 men at arms were not only 
untrained, unorganized, and undisciplined — they had been 
accustomed to cower in terror before these very enemies. 
Such a body of raw troops were of little account in op- 
posing tried veterans, led by experienced officers, all 
trained to arms from boyhood, as the Egyptian soldiers 
were, and equipped with the best of arms. Around the 
Israelitish army, looking to them for protection, were near 
one million and a half of old men, women and children. 
The best efforts they could make to repel Pharaoh's as- 
saults were sure to result in utter defeat and fearful 
slaughter. What to do was the question, and they 
must act on the spur of the moment. The condition of 
Moses and his trembling flock on that morning when Pha- 
raoh and his host were pressing upon their rear-guard and 
the Red Sea rolled at their feet, was appalling. Before 
and around them seemed not peril merely, but inevitable 
destruction. Notwithstanding all the wonders they had 



160 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

witnessed in Egypt, notwithstanding the aid Jehovah 
had bestowed upon their deliverer, only one man amongst 
two million had any hope. Only one showed full trust 
in Providence. He felt himself guided to that ancient 
ford. He knew the change sometimes wrought by an 
eastern gale. He had studied the heavens enough to 
know that there was a blessing likely to come upon 
him from above. He may have felt the fitness of com- 
pleting his demonstrations of Divine aid (which alone 
could insure his control of such a mutinous mob), by one 
more brilliant performance — to assure his people that they 
were really the favorites of heaven — and that in the long- 
struggle which was to come He would give them victory 
over all their Canaanitish foes. Had a battle occurred, and 
had the mob dispersed the regular army, instead of being 
mown down like the stubble, still there were no means of 
crossing the sea. To have passed over in boats would 
have been the work of weeks; but nothing could have 
been a more propitious initiation of the grand enterprise 
than the safe passage from shore to shore of this immense 
mass of men, women and children, evidently on foot. 
Such a success as this, however aided by nature, could 
not fail to be regarded as miraculous in after ages; and, 
as the centuries rolled by, more and more of the supernat- 
ural would weave itself in with the narrative. And so 
as they crossed the dividing line an undoubted assurance 
of that Divine protection was given on which they must 
rely in the contest with unknown enemies in an unknown 
land. 

Chapter XV. We read: " Thou (that is the Lord), didst 



EXODUS. 161 

blow with thy wind, the sea covered them, they sank as 
lead in the mighty waters." — v. 1Q. This tells us in the 
graceful language of a poetical age how it came to pass 
that Pharaoh was swallowed up in the Red Sea. What 
matters it whether we regard the event as a miracle or 
not ? That age evidently regarded it so ; but every suc- 
ceeding age will be less and less disposed to believe in 
miracle if that is defined to be a conflict with the gene- 
ral economy of nature or the eternal laws of matter. The 
waters of no river or sea upon the wide earth were ever 
divided by any means other than the constant operation of 
settled laws. In primitive times " the sun's being dark- 
ened " in an eclipse was looked upon as showing the 
displeasure of a sovereign power. Thus in effect main- 
taining that on account of the sin of somebody, the order 
of nature was entirely reversed. This is what we are 
compelled to doubt. The marvelous stories of the Bible 
in regard to wonders performed from the time Moses 
thought he saw a bush burn without being consumed, to 
the time of a final settlement in the same old Canaan from 
which Jacob was driven by dread of starvation, embrace 
a wide range. Those who read have a right to read them 
with the best light they can possibly get in this nineteenth 
century. 

The region of Canaan might have gained in population 
while Jacob was away, though not in fertility. What 
was said about its being a goodly land to induce the Isra- 
elites to leave Egypt, seems to us mere talk. That was 
the time for large stories, high-sounding and mythical 
pictures. As in that very region at this day, the imagina- 



162 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

tion had a free sweep, and the popular narrative clothed 
itself in poetry and was often sung. The real facts of 
actual history had been far less impressive. Wild and 
strange stories always command attention. Fancy worked 
more wildly then than now, because less hampered with ac- 
knowledged realities. These Israelites, while they abode 
in Egypt, formed an upright community; cherished the re- 
ligion of their forefathers, and when ushered into another 
state by death, could claim to have acted up to the light 
given them in the simple creed of the patriarchal world. 

Leaving Goshen with the aid of miracles, they are 
guided on their journey by the most astonishing wonders, 
yet not one of them except Caleb and Joshua were al- 
lowed to enter the land of promise. Death was to be asso- 
ciated in their minds with unbelief; and this sin of theirs 
was not merely against Moses, but against the God whom 
he represented. And so these poor simple human beings, 
as many contend, went down to endless perdition. At the 
outset of their journey the fact seems not to have been 
understood, that in nearly all cases worship in minds 
of a low grade depends upon visible forms; that religion 
could have no hold upon newly emancipated slaves if 
wholly spiritualized. In a few months the mistake was 
discovered and properly corrected. 

It was not long after crossing the sea when the want of 
food was felt bitterly. That barren wilderness of Sinai 
was a hideous contrast to the golden bounty they had left 
in the Nile-valley, and to the promised abundance of the 
Canaan they had not yet found. No wonder they mur- 
mured at their leader. No wonder that so simple a people 



EXODUS. 163 

looked backward rather than forward. Moses answered 
the cry of their necessity with bread from heaven. Man- 
na is naturally produced in that Arabian peninsula to-day, 
but it is produced only through three months of the year — 
never in the amount of fifteen million pounds a week 
as required by the lsraelitish camp — it does not spoil by 
being kept as this did, nor does any increased quantity 
fall the day before Sabbath, nor does it suddenly disap- 
pear as this did. So that it is not strange that this unfail- 
ing, enormous, periodic supply of what was to them a food, 
not a medicine, came to be regarded as the special bounty 
of God through his authorized representative. 

Just so the water: they thirsted: the rock was smitten 
in heaven's name — smitten by the miraculous rod; and a 
live stream issued in such abundance as to supply them- 
selves and their cattle. 

The same chapter which gives us the smiting of Horeb 
records the first battle with the natives whom they were 
to dispossess. And nothing could have been more admi- 
rably arranged for effect. Their wonderful leader was 
seen by his army on a hill-top, sustained by Aaron and 
Hur, invoking heaven's aid on their arms. How could 
they fail with such a pledge of Divine assistance ! How 
like the account of a trustful child it reads, that while 
Moses' hands were kept up Israel prevailed, and when his 
hands sunk they went down. 

The prophecy that " Amalek should be utterly put out 
of remembrance," was not fulfilled until the time of Hez- 
ekiah. So little thoroughness had the Jews in clearing 
the land they were to occupy; though the neighborhood of 



164 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

heathen was perpetually corrupting them with heathen vice 
as well as heathen worship, and in every season of calam- 
ity they were sure of being attacked by these ever-rest- 
less marauders. But how few nations understand their 
mission or follow God's prophets to its fulfillment. 

Evidently, Israel had not conquered in this battle (the 
type of many which were to follow), unless they had be- 
lieved in that Divine assistance of which the visible 
prayer of the man of God gave them assurance. Having 
begun in dependence on this outstretched arm, they could 
not go on without it. They felt entirely unequal to the 
struggle of themselves, but when the Almighty was on 
their side they had nothing to fear. And so, for a thou- 
sand years to come, when they joined battle sure of the 
Divine assistance, they conquered; when they fought be- 
lieving Jehovah had deserted, them they were slain in 
heaps with Saul and Jonathan. Those who understand 
the soul see how this result was the simple working out of 
natural laws — the necessary triumph of faith. They 
fought like lions when they saw the host of heaven en- 
camped around them in spiritual vision: they fled like 
sheep when they found themselves deprived of Divine pro- 
tection and left to their unassisted strength. Very much 
so through our own experience, we realize the words of 
the great Master, "Be it unto thee even as thou wilt." 

Leaving unsolved the myster} 7 of this vast multitude's 
being possessed of tents under which they are said to 
have abode in this Sinai region, where certainly the cold 
of winter would demand this protection for women and 
children; though it seems equally clear that they could 



EXODUS. 165 

not ever have brought up from Egypt the two hundred 
thousand that were required, nor have bought them on the 
way, nor have manufactured them in the absence of all 
machinery. 

The Sinai-peninsula has been thoroughly examined and 
measured by distinguished scholars from various lands. 
F. W. Holland has been over the whole territory four times 
with a proper surveying party — Dr. Robinson left no nook 
unvisited that could throw any light on the sacred narra- 
tive — the great geographer of Germany, Ritter, has flood- 
ed that dreary region with light. We find that in winter 
many of the mountain passes are shut up with snow, and 
the whole region inhospitable in the extreme. Severe cold 
prevails in the higher parts, especially during the nights. 
And yet these natives of a comparative sultry clime pass- 
ed a whole year with their women and children in this 
fearfully contrasted region, and do not seem to have com- 
plained of the tropical temperature they had lost, of the 
perfect shelter they before enjoyed, and the inexhaustible 
fertility of a soil enriched abundantly by the generous 
river's annual overflow. 

Is it not clear that a careful consideration of this exode 
as recorded in the Bible, will compel any one to the con- 
clusion that two million of people would ever have sub- 
sisted a year under Sinai without intense suffering ? As 
to the extent of spots where vegetation is luxuriant, some 
idea may be formed by referring to the eminent traveler, 
Mr. Burckhardt, who says: "The Wady-Kyd (one of the 
most noted date-valleys) is watered by a rivulet two feet 
across and six inches in depth, which becomes lost in the 

812 



166 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

sands immediately below." The whole time Burckhardt 
occupied in crossing this valley was only an hour. Two 
million of sheep and all the cattle (allowing a space of 
three feet by two to stand on) would occupy three or four 
hundred acres. It seems idle to spend time in discussing 
the question whether this vast mass of animals could 
have subsisted in such a wilderness, with such insignifi- 
cant intervals of green as a drove of an hundred head 
would have trodden into mud in six hours. 

If the number of able-bodied men exceeded half a mil- 
lion, there could not have been less than two million of 
people in all; yet, how can we explain this unparalleled 
increase from the seventy souls who went down to Egypt 
two centuries before ? We no where read of any very 
large families among the children of Jacob, or their de- 
scendants. It may be granted that very few died prema- 
turely; and that those who were born increased and mul- 
tiplied. Among all the sixty-nine children, grand-children 
and great-grand-children of Jacob who went with him into 
Egypt, it is strange there should be only one daughter 
mentioned, and one grand-daughter. The very number- 
ing of those two among the rest shows that the females 
were not omitted intentionally. Such immense prepon- 
derance of males is so unlikely that it shows at least part of 
the record to be untrue on its face. It appears that the 
twelve sons of Jacob had fifty-three sons, an average of 
four and a half each. We will suppose they went on in- 
creasing in this ratio from generation to generation. In 
the first generation (that of Kohath) there would be 54 
males; in the second (that of Amram) 243; in the third 



EXODUS. 167 

(that of Moses and Aaron) 1,094; and in the fourth (that 
of Joshua and Eleazar), 4,923; or, instead of 600,000 war- 
riors in the prime of life, there would have been 5,000. 
If the number of all the males in the four generations 
were added together, they would only amount to 6,311. 
If we add to that the number of the fifth generation, 
(22,154) who would be mostly children, the sum total of 
males of all generations could not, according to this data, 
have exceeded 28,465, instead of being 1,000,000. From 
the account itself it appears that the mothers were all 
Hebrew women, and that the males did not intermarry 
with the Egyptians. 

After the Israelitish camp was regularly established in 
this sublime region, Zipporah was naturally desirous of 
visiting her husband. His long absence, perilous travel 
and rare experiences heightened that desire, and led her, 
as soon as circumstances favored, to start with her father 
and children. On their arrival at the camp Moses wel- 
comed them with every token of affection and respect, 
and the meeting was exceedingly happy and profitable. 
Mutual congratulations being over, Jethro proceeded to 
give Moses such advice as his larger experience justified ; 
particularly that he should organize an inferior court for 
the trial of ordinary causes, leaving more difficult ones 
for his own decision. In this way he would save most 
of the detail-labor, and by that means escape the ex- 
haustion always resulting from excessive toil, mental or 
physical. This advice pleased Moses and he carried it 
into action at once, with perfect success — reserving him- 
self for the more important causes. 



168 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Chapter XIX. In the third month after the children of 
Israel had gone forth out of Egypt, God called to Moses 
out of Mount Sinai, making various promises through him 
to the elders of Israel. He is represented as giving him 
particular directions about many things for the benefit of 
the people. On the third day of this interview, there 
were thunder and lightning and a cloud on Mount Sinai, 
with smoke like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole 
mountain quaked. There was also the sound of a trum- 
pet; and when that ceased Moses spake and God answer- 
ed him. The prophet was finally called to the top of the 
mountain, and the people ordered back on pain of death. 
Even the priests had to sanctify themselves before they 
could come near. The rush became so great to see what 
was going on, they were all ordered down, and Moses 
told to come up with Aaron only, and let the people and 
the priests stand back. Then, the account says, God 
spake to Moses the famous Ten Commandments, which 
are too well known to need repeating; but some other 
commands given at the time are not so well remembered; 
one of which was that they should make an altar of earth 
and sacrifice thereon. If the old Ten Commandments were 
for our observance at this day, why not this one of burnt 
offerings ? 

Chapter XXI gives particular directions about many 
things, and in concise form a code of laws extending 
through the two next chapters. 

Chapter XXIV. Moses made a report to the people as 
to his interview with the Lord, which was perhaps noted 
down to enable him to give the conversation entire. 



EXODUS. 169 

Moses wrote all the words of these laws and built an 
altar as commanded. The writing was called a book. 
Moses having learned so much the first ascent, determined 
upon a second in company with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, 
and the seventy elders. Well were they repaid, for they 
saw the God of Israel! The description of the scene is 
singular, and would impress some with the idea that the 
writer did not know of what he spoke: " There was under 
his feet a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were 
the body of heaven in his clearness." Who can have an 
idea of the " body of heaven V "And the Lord said, Come 
up and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law and 
commandments, which I have written that thou mayst 
teach them." These same commandments had before been 
given to Moses, and he had written them in a book and 
read them to the people. Why then this re-writing on 
tables of stone ? Certainly not for Moses' information, for 
he already possessed them. The elders had a feast on the 
mount, but Moses desired to be alone and bade them leave 
him. After waiting there six days, on the seventh the 
Lord called to him out of a cloud. The sight of the Lord, 
Moses says, was like a devouring fire. And Moses went 
up into the midst of the cloud, and abode there forty days 
and nights. 

Chapter XXV gives many directions for the conduct of 
the people, but especially for the construction of a sanctu- 
ary, that God might dwell amongst them as their peculiar 
possession. This shrine was even more extraordinary 
than the temple which afterwards took its place. 

Chapter XXXI. And He (God) gave unto Moses, when 



HO SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

He had made an end of conversing with him, two tables 
of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of 
God. 

Chapter XXXII. Though Moses gave two different ac- 
counts about the Ten Commandments — one that he had 
them from God's own mouth, and the other that they were 
written by God's own finger — neither could have been 
literally true. The time he spent on the mount was abun- 
dant for so gifted a man's forming codes for the direction 
of his people in duty. Without some regulations and 
penal laws it was impossible to govern such an untamed 
crew. Moses saw this, and his stay on the mountain was 
protracted into months. At last the delay was so great 
that the people, like children whose mother had overstayed 
her time, became demoralized. They could no longer hold 
fast without something to hold to. As they did not know 
what a splendid thing Moses was getting up in the shape 
of a tabernacle, they did just as any other ignorant people 
would — they murmured. They appealed to Aaron for 
some visible thing to worship, and he was quite too willing 
to yield — making them pause a moment by requiring them 
to sacrifice enough of their jewelry to cast a golden calf. 
They seem to have done it with alacrity. The image was 
completed and they were busy in its adoration just as 
Moses was coming down from the mount with his tables 
of stone and his plan for the tabernacle, a more beautiful 
shrine than had ever met the eyes of these poor wanderers. 
With the means Moses had at hand to engrave these tables, 
it was quite a work. Doubtless they were well done. 

We can hardly imagine the proud satisfaction the 



EXODUS. If! 

Hebrew founder felt as he strode down from the mountain 
with the result of his important and difficult labor. He 
and Joshua were walking together, when Joshua heard a 
noise in the camp and said: "It is not the voice of them 
that shout for the mastery, nor of them that cry for being 
overcome, but the voice of them that sing." When Moses 
came near enough to see the dance around the calf his 
anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, 
and broke them near the foot of the mount. He took the 
calf they had made, burnt it with fire, ground it to powder, 
strewed the powder upon the water, and made the children 
of Israel drink it. Aaron ought to have had a double 
share. Moses was angry with him for what he had done; 
but, like all other sinners, Aaron tried to excuse himself, 
and said he only told the people to bring him their jewels 
and he put them in the fire and there came out a calf ! 
He lied a little about it, and hardly ever was there so 
pitiful an excuse. But the wrath of Moses cooled in due 
time; then giving them directions how to atone for their 
sins, he put all in proper shape again and started for the 
mountain once more to re-write the Ten Commandments 
and revise all else he had done. The stones he used the 
second time might have been better than the first. Any 
way the law was again nicely written so that all could 
read it easily. Moses saw also more fully than before 
that no such children could permanently abide in religion 
without symbols and forms. They had little spirituality, 
and so much the more required a tangible substance they 
could embrace and hold fast. This has been true of all the 
world since. No people have been satisfied with inward 



112 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

manifestations; and to-day the religious world pay more 
homage to forms and symbols than to spirituality. Why 
cannot we lay more stress on good works, good thoughts, 
good hearts, and less on formalism — less on ceremony ? 

Chapter XXXIV tells us that Jehovah is jealous. How 
a being who sees and knows all things can be jealous, is 
no more comprehensible than the way in which Moses 
talked with Him face to face, when " no man can see God 
and live." 

Chapter XXXVII. The tabernacle having been com- 
pleted, Bezaleel, considered by the Israelites to be the ablest 
workman, makes a plan for the ark. It is plain by the 
account that while Moses was the chief head in all things, 
others rendered immensely important service under his 
direction. From the amount of gold employed, and its 
perfect fineness, we realize their desire of making a really 
noble and glorious work. The width and quality of the 
boards composing the tabernacle is also proof of this. 
Some may enjoy a careful perusal of the dozen chapters 
devoted to the enumeration of the parts, form and fashion 
of the ark and tabernacle, but the number is so small that 
we deem it better omitted. 

In biblical history three arks are prominent: By the 
first one Noah and his family, with a sufficient number of 
all created things to preserve every species, are said to 
have been saved. By the next, the ark of bulrushes, 
Moses was preserved alive to be the deliverer of his 
people. The last, and by far the most important, was 
designated as the Ark of the Covenant, and used first as a 
depository for the book of the law or the tables of stone, 



EXODUS. H3 

and after that as a place of safe keeping for other Jewish 
records and laws for the government of Church and State. 
This was held in higher esteem for many centuries than 
anything made by human hands. On all great public 
days, and as connected with general worship, nothing 
could exceed the reverence with which it was regarded. 
The beauty of the ark and tabernacle did not constitute 
their only attraction; as the abode and temple of their 
God, adoration was constant, fervent, profound. Con- 
nected with them was an altar for burnt offerings, the holy 
garments, and many other articles elegantly prepared. 
The whole congregation seems to have been fully satisfied, 
and never was anything better adapted to the purpose 
than all this fancy work, so richly if rudely adorned. No 
device or contrivance was wanting. 

Chapter XXXIX. "And they brought the tabernacle 
unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, his taches, his 
boards, his bars, and his pillars, and his sockets; and the 
covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the vail of the cov- 
ering; the ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, 
and the mercy-seat; the table, and all the vessels thereof, 
and the shew-bread; the pure candlestick, with the lamps 
thereof, even with the lamps to be set in order, and all the 
vessels thereof, and the oil for light; and the golden altar, 
and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the 
hanging for the tabernacle door; the brazen altar, and his 
grate of brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and 
his foot; the hangings of the court, his pillars, and his 
sockets, and the hanging for the court gate, his cords, and 
his pins, and all the vessels of the service of the taber- 



1?4 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

nacle, for the tent of the congregation; the clothes of 
service to do service in the holy place, and the holy gar- 
ments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, to 
minister in the priest's office. According to all that the 
Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all 
the work. And Moses did look upon all the work, and 
behold, they had done it as the Lord had commanded, even 
so had they done it; and Moses blessed them." All this is 
set down thus particularly to show the reader how well 
the ceremonial wants of such a rude race had been sup- 
plied; what a superb pageant they had to admire; what a 
consecrated enclosure inshrined the Supreme Controller of 
their destiny. There was now no occasion to make another 
calf to worship. Nor yet had Aaron lost his popularity 
or forfeited his priesthood by his idolatrous tendency. A 
sentiment of profound reverence filled every heart in the 
congregation. The particular manifestations that followed, 
whether really resulting from a hidden spirit or from arti- 
ficial means, had a marked effect. Offerings and oblations 
were made daily with great sincerity while the tabernacle 
was new; with full faith too that the favor of heaven was 
being propitiated. Directions for these performances were 
given, as the priests and Moses asserted by Jehovah, the 
recital of which would be too tedious for our purpose. 
However frivolous they may seem at this distance of time, 
it is very certain that they were adapted to the Jews, or 
they would not have been observed so well and have been 
perpetuated to our time. But yet to represent the Supreme 
Ruler of all worlds as giving the minute directions of the 
tabernacle service, seems to be highly improper. Is any- 



exodus. 175 

thing gained by contending that God gave this ritual to 
Moses with His own mouth, except to degrade our idea of 
Deity ? 

Chapter XL. They had now been out of Egypt about 
one year, and in the Sinai vicinity nine months. In this 
chapter we read that, when completed, the glory of God 
filled the tabernacle. Mention is often made in the Old 
Testament of this glory, and it may be well to inquire 
what it is, and to ask if it is not every where. No doubt 
it may be more conspicuous at one time or place than 
another; but in reality it fills all space. Minutely consid- 
ered, the term "Glory of God" has a multitude of defini- 
tions. God is every where at all times. The Psalms 
declare this repeatedly. The devout spirit sees continually 
more and more of Him and His glory. 

The ceremonial arrangements of the Israelites answered 
an important purpose and were the means of doing much 
good, like any well-arranged ritual. Some hundreds of 
years after, a command was given by Isaiah to bring forth 
no more vain oblations, for they were an abomination in 
the sight of the Lord. Why then should those who claim 
this Isaiah as the most Christian of prophets, strive so 
hard to perpetuate the old Jewish ceremonies, psalms and 
ordinances as necessary to our spiritual life ? There was 
a time when men's imaginations were vain and their foolish 
hearts darkened; it should not be so now; in this age of 
light and knowledge too much importance is attached to 
trivial things, while weightier matters are neglected, and 
so the substance is lost sight of in an eager desire to catch 
at the shadow. By this means the energies of many an 



176 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

honest soul are wasted, and worse than wasted. The 
observance of the Sabbath day started with the exodus. 
Till then there was no such day kept that we hear of. 
This observance, however begun or when, is something 
every good man and every friend of society above all 
things desires to perpetuate. Proof of the benefits result- 
ing from the sacred observance of one day in seven, is 
seen all over Jewish history, but more plainly and deci- 
dedly in later times. Indeed its value cannot be estimated. 
Among the things unmistakably divine is the command 
to keep the Sabbath day holy. The inference is fair, that, 
Moses having as many now suppose a direct assertion 
from God that after the six days of creation He found rest 
necessary on the seventh, was commanded so to inform 
mankind and by all means in his power to enforce the 
observance. Should the manner of this communication 
be disputed, or its being made at all be denied, the benefits 
flowing from it remain the same. 

The reader will pardon this slight digression upon a 
matter so vital to the best interests of society — so indis- 
pensable to the existence of a church upon earth. 



LEVITICUS. l*i*i 



CHAPTER VIII. 

LEVITICUS. 

THIS book contains directions for the ancient worship of 
the Jewish Church. As the first and prominent thing 
they were to serve God by means of sacrifices, mostly in 
the shape of burnt offerings. Secondly, they were to be 
under the control and special direction of a priesthood 
particularly set apart as guides in the way of holiness. 
Aaron and his son were the first to be consecrated for this 
high office. Thus we have the inauguration of an order 
which may never cease to exist — an order from which has 
flowed a vast amount of good to the sons of men. But 
the claim these priests set up to be the especial mouth- 
pieces of God is in great danger of being ignored; and 
all their endeavors to enforce it are likely to prove abor- 
tive in the end. And, as the world becomes enlightened, 
outward manifestations will avail less and less. 

Leviticus is the name given to the Greek version. 
Though called by this name, it does not treat of the min- 
istry of the Levites properly so called, who were distinct 
from the priests and subordinates. This book will be 
passed over with a few general comments. Noticing 
every detail would be tedious as well as unprofitable. The 
ceremonies are of the lengthy kind, all proper enough, 



118 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

but without interest now. Some ceremonials of the pres- 
ent time in the best cultivated Christian lands seem to us 
too tedious, and yet far preferable to those of a musty an- 
tiquity. Forms ought not to be laid aside, and never will 
be any more than order and regularity. They may be di- 
vided into several grades. The simplest are often the 
most to be admired, as they contribute most to our enjoy- 
ment. We must not however forget that they have no 
vivifying power, no renewing energy. They are a mere 
road over which we travel in pursuit of good — a means to 
reach what we desire with more system and more certainty. 

Chapter XVI. The Israelites were commanded to ob- 
serve a yearly day of atonement. At first it was kept 
with sincerity by the body of the people, but in process of 
time we shall see by their history that with many other 
rites it was laid aside if not forgotten. Instead of set- 
ting up forms for observance, had the inner man been im- 
pressed, the effect might have been enduring. The soul 
that hungers most after righteousness and truth will do 
the most for their promulgation. An appetite for the 
good is more often lacking than the means to gratify it. 
When communities, cities, states and nations undertake 
to keep a fast, should any one look for such a scene as 
would naturally be expected from the common definition, 
they would look in vain. The humiliation is wanting, the 
fasting is neglected, and the prayers in private are be- 
coming exceedingly rare. 

Chapter XXIII notices particularly the religious fasts 
kept by the Jews. Some were ordained for the whole na- 
tion, and others for religious assemblies. 



LEVITICUS. If 9 

Chapter XXV gives us the rules for the observance of 
the Sabbatical and Jubilee years; one occurring every 
seventh, the other every fiftieth year; but how well the 
directions given in this book were observed even at the 
time, is a matter of doubt. Probably like many other 
laws and rules laid down for the conduct of men, some 
paid respect to them, while others did not regard them 
at all. Not many jubilees were kept as directed. But a 
careful perusal of these directions astonishes us; every 
relation of life seems to be taken into account. In fact it 
may be questioned whether the Israelites originated the 
whole. Important portions might have been taken from 
the Midianites, who were possibly advanced in civilization 
and the science of government. 

Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, was a man of remarkable 
ability. At the first meeting of Moses with him and his 
family of daughters, he gave evidence of refinement and 
culture. So when the Jewish leader came with his people 
and were well encamped under Sinai, Jethro saw at once 
the best course to be pursued. Aid in the formation of a 
code of laws so lengthy and particular certainly came 
from some quarter other than the genius of a people who 
had been slaves for many years, though the slavery in 
Egypt might not have been of the most rigorous kind. 
That Pithom and Raamses were built by them seems ap- 
parent; and that they had among them men in authority, 
their elders, is also evident. Writers who best understand 
their history, do not believe they were so very ignorant. 
Of superstition they had a very large share, and so had 
their Egyptian masters; it belonged at that period to the 



180 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

whole human race, and hardly could a succession of the 
most stupendous miracles have kept them free. We must 
not be surprised at encountering ghostly shadows every- 
where so early in the history of mankind. The supernat- 
ural explanation for any unusual event would almost nec- 
essarily be preferred to the natural. 



NUMBERS. 181 



CHAPTER IX. 

NUMBERS. 

THIS book takes its name from the numbering of the 
Israelites in the wilderness, B. C. 1490: the second 
month of the second year after leaving Egypt. 

This, with the other books of the Pentateuch comprised 
under the general name of " the law," reaches from the 
second year after the departure from Egypt to the fortieth 
year, when they were. about to enter Canaan. Of the par- 
ticulars of their movements from Sinai, the incidents of 
their interrupted journey, and the laws preparatory to 
their occupancy of the promised land, we shall have but 
little to say; those laws constituted both the Church and 
State, no line of distinction being possible between the 
ecclesiastical and civil institutions in Judea. 

To aid in the collection of taxes for religious purposes 
and the construction of the tabernacle, a numbering of 
all the tribes had been made, but another was required 
for military organization. Rolls of the first census having 
been preserved, the labor of the second was greatly 
lessened. The tribe of Levi was not to be included, for 
the reason that it was Jehovah's instead of the first born 
of every family. 

Judah is the first tribe from which a prince of note 

813 



182 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

should arise. All of the twelve tribes were numbered, 
from twenty years old and upward, that were able to 
go to war. After a careful summing up, the aggregate 
was found to be six hundred and three thousand, five hun- 
dred and fifty.. Some slight addition had taken place by 
the advancing age of young men. But such a difference 
would be slight. Relying on the correctness of this enu- 
meration, the sum total of all the Egyptian emigration 
was about the two million uniformly given in history. 
The Levites did not go to war; their duties consisted in 
carrying the tabernacle and the ark, taking care that 
they were safely kept and in proper order, and attending 
generally to all sacred affairs. 

Chapter V. Regulations are made for the army; for 
the public peace; for good morals and the well being of 
society, all of the most judicious kind, evincing wisdom, 
forethought, and knowledge of human nature. Almost 
every contingency is provided for, and a long catalogue 
of offences anticipated. 

Chapter sixth sets forth the requirements of those who 
should take the Nazarite vow, of which there is mention 
in the Gospels. Aaron blesses the children of Israel by 
saying, "The Lord bless thee and keep thee: the Lord 
make his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto 
thee: the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give 
thee peace." For these thousands of years the most elo- 
quent of all benedictions! 

Chapter seventh presents a full account of the dedica- 
tion of the tabernacle and the altar, but the particulars 
are too lengthy for insertion. 



NUMBERS. 183 

Chapter eighth describes the candlesticks and para- 
phernalia of the tabernacle, with the various sacrifices 
and offering's. 

Chapter IX. " And the Lord spake unto Moses in the 
wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year 
after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying-, — 
v. 1. "Let the children of Israel also keep the passover 
at his appointed season. — v. 2. " In the fourteenth day of 
this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed sea- 
son: according to all the rites of it, and according to all 
the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it." — v. 3. 

Chapter X. Two silver trumpets are ordered to be 
made for calling the assembly together at the door of the 
congregation. Directions are given for blowing them for 
various gatherings and other purposes. " And it came to 
pass that on the twentieth of the second month of the 
second year, thai, the cloud was taken up from off the tab- 
ernacle of the testimony. — v. 11. "And the children of 
Israel took their journey out of the wilderness of Sinai, 
and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran." — v. 12. 
Moses had entire command, and arranged them in order 
as follows: first, the children of Judah, then the children 
of Issachar and of Zebulon; the sons of Gershon and Me- 
rari set forward bearing the tabernacle. 

"And they departed from the mount of the Lord three 
days journey." — v. 33. 

Chapter XI. When the people complained, the Lord 
was displeased and sent his fire among them, which Moses 
arrested by prayer. Next they fell a lusting and wept 
sore for the lack of food such as they had left behind in 



184 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS, 

Egypt, for the meat, the fish, the melons, and other green 
things. The Lord in his compassion sent manna, as the rec- 
ord says, something like coriander seed, which they ground 
in mills or beat with mortars, and then baked in pans, and 
made into cakes which tasted like sweet oil. At night, 
when the dew fell on the camp, then the manna fell as we 
believe the Arabian manna does now. But this food did 
not satisfy the people, who wanted something more sub- 
stantial. In great distress Moses asked where he could 
obtain meat for such a multitude. Finally, his overtasked 
soul cries out for relief in the grave. Instead of punish- 
ing Moses for the sensuality of his people, Jehovah de- 
clared that they should have all the flesh they could eat 
for a month. Then there came to them such flocks of 
quails as were never known before. These were devoured 
with intense greed, to such excess that thousands died 
with the flesh between their teeth. This happened when 
they were only three days journey from the mountain of 
God. 

Chapter XII. Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses 
because he had a colored woman for wife. They raised 
the question whether Moses was to continue the only ora- 
cle of Jehovah. Miriam was visited by leprosy, which 
alarmed Aaron, and made him entreat Moses to remove 
the loathsome pest. Moses did so, though for seven days 
she was obliged to stay outside of the camp to prevent 
contagion. 

Next, one from each tribe is selected to spy out the land 
of Canaan, and report upon every thing belonging to it in 
the most particular manner. They were to find out the 



NUMBERS. 185 

bodily strength of the people; see whether they lived in 
tents as shepherds, or dwelt in fortified cities; examine 
the timber with a view to building, and also the fruits of 
the land. There was no difficulty in finding the way, 
as a caravan road from Egypt to Assyria had long before 
entered Palestine from this point. Stopping at a few small 
places, they soon found themselves at Hebron, which had 
been a noted place time out of mind. After spending- 
forty days in critical observation — always this term of 
forty crops up in the narrative — they returned with some 
of the fruit, and said Canaan was really a land flowing 
with milk and honey, but that the people were strong, and 
the cities large and walled in. They had also seen the 
giant sons of Anak. In the south dwelt the Amalekites, 
in the mountains the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the 
Amorites: the Canaanites dwelt by the sea and by the 
coast of the Jordan. This report it seems was made by 
Caleb, who, fearing the people might be terrified, endeav- 
ored to restore courage by saying that Israel was able to 
overcome them all and possess the land. Some of those 
who went up witli Caleb did not believe in their ability to 
cope with the populous tribes whom they would have to 
encounter. They declared that the land was "eating up 
the inhabitants," and that all the people were men of 
great stature; and then the giants were so large that 
they themselves were as mere grasshoppers by their 
side. 

Chapter XIV. The people cried aloud and wept all the 
night. A general murmur arose from the congregation, 
and the united wish that they had died in Egypt, and not 



186 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

been brought out to fall by the sword in that wilderness. 
They said one to another that a new captain ought to be 
chosen, and an immediate return made to the land of 
bondage. Amidst all this confusion, the congregation is 
called to order, and a counter report is made by Joshua 
and Caleb, who declare that the land they passed through 
was exceedingly good, and actually did flow with milk 
and honey. Nor were the inhabitants at all to be feared, 
since the Lord of Hosts was with Israel. A great clamor 
ensued, and the congregation cried "stone them;" when 
a sudden blaze of glory from the tabernacle arrested their 
murderous hands. Pestilence is threatened for their sins; 
but Moses plead for them, and a pardon was granted. 
Then the Lord declared because of the people's tempting 
him ten times, that none of them should see the land ex- 
cepting Caleb and Joshua. 

Astonishment fills every mind at the contemplation of 
the change that took place with the Israelites in the short 
space of one year and a half. At the beginning of 1491 
B. C, all were in bondage; but through a long continu- 
ance of vassalage had learned to bear it with some pa- 
tience. Then came heavenly manifestations in their be- 
half, first by amazing wonders, especially by the slaying 
in one night of the Egyptian first-born; and, as a fin- 
ishing stroke, by the dividing of the Red Sea so that 
even women and children passed over the ocean-bed un- 
harmed. Connected with this, as a matter of record 
about which no doubt can be indulged, was the previous 
promise made to Abram, Isaac, and Jacob, and repeated 
under various circumstances, even with a voice from the 



NUMBERS. 18*7 

burning bush — the promise confirmed with an oath that 
they should possess the land. 

All nature is subject to change, but how conceive of a 
change in the mind of an eternal and infinite God with 
whom there is no variableness nor shadow of turning ? 
The great mistake we make is in attributing the changes 
of man to God. While we are walking in the right path, 
joy and comfort result; but when an opposite course is 
taken, then comes grief, tribulation, and anguish; entirely 
the fruit of our wrong doing, God and his laws remaining 
unchanged. So God said to Moses and his people, "that 
they should not see the land he had promised them." — 
v. 23. It is repeated again: "But as for you, your 
carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. — 32. " And your 
children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and 
bear your whoredoms, until your carcasses be wasted in 
tlje wilderness." — v. 33. All but Caleb and Joshua of the 
twelve who went up to examine the land of Canaan, for 
making that false and discouraging report died by the 
plague; only these two heroic souls were permitted to 
enter the land of promise and possess it. All the people 
were to know the Lord's "breach of promise;" that is to 
say, the change of base which had come through their 
own folly, disobedience, and want of fidelity. Even a 
child can see that the Divine promises could not be uncon- 
ditional, and never were; that if His people cease to be 
His they cast away His blessing; if they act like heathen 
they have to Buffer with the heathen. And the whole uni- 
verse would cry aloud if any other principle than this im- 
partial justice were enthroned any where in the universe. 



188 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

All that happened does not possess the same interest. 
Much is passed over without notice having no marked con- 
nection with subsequent events. Taken collectively, the 
history of this exode does not show that the Israelites 
were under the Lord's guidance in such a sense as to be 
completely under his control. 

In chapters XXII, XXIII and XXIV, the story of Balak 
and Balaam is very well told, and exceedingly interesting: 
11 Then Balaam took up his parable, and said, the son of 
Beor hath said, the man whose eyes are open, he hath said, 
which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge 
of the Most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, 
falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: I shall see 
him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh: there 
shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise 
out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and 
destroy all the children of Sheth. And Edom shall be a 
possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; 
and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he 
that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that 
remaineth of the city." 

Most unaccountably has this passage, from the lips of 
one who had not even advanced as far as the twilight of 
Judaism, been taken to refer to the noonday of Christianity. 
But the passage distinctly limits itself to that day and 
generation. The star and scepter which were to arise 
should " smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the 
children of Sheth" — the same thing over again — fulfilled 
evidently in the conquests of David. But, that any Chris- 
tian should imagine the mission of the " Prince of Peace" 



NUMBERS. . 189 

to be principally for the destruction of a small heathen 
tribe near the Dead Sea, of about as much consequence to 
the world as a herd of wild buffaloes, is certainly a stain 
upon our boasted intelligence and a refutation of the 
humanity we claim for our religion. 

Chapter XXV exhibits the danger of harboring the 
Midianitish women, and the reason of Moses decreeing 
their destruction. Here they are found tempting the people 
to licentiousness; this licentiousness again results in dis- 
ease, and disease then ran riot because nothing like 
medical treatment was known in that early stage of 
society. The severely diseased (like the leprous patient in 
Palestine), was abandoned to an inevitable death — in some 
countries had his death hastened by friendly hands, to free 
him from misery, and prevent the pest from making havoc 
like a fire in the prairies. 

Chapter XXXI states that the children of Israel warred 
against the Midianites: "So the Lord commanded Moses 
and they slew all the males, took all the women and chil- 
dren captive, and carried away their cattle, flocks and 
goods." Moses went out to meet the army on its return, 
and was wroth that they had saved the women alive, and 
commanded that every male among the little ones should 
be killed, and every woman that had become a wife; but 
all the girls and female children were to be kept alive for 
themselves. It is hardly fair to judge a nation by a 
morality which has come into being ages after them; but 
such wholesale murder we should pronounce in our day 
brutal, fiendish, and abominable. Then follows a long 
account of the particular way in which the spoils were 



190 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

divided, the priests alwa} T s having a liberal share. After 
the whole of the Midianites were slain, except the young 
girls, of course all the property they had fell to the share 
of their executioners. If one man kills another by the com- 
mand of God, what right has he to the dead man's estate ? 
Lest the Lord should be angr} r at such a butchery, they 
offered an oblation — one of those vain ceremonies spoken 
of afterwards by the prophets. If the Lord was not sat- 
isfied with that they felt better themselves; it also had the 
sanction of the priests because it magnified their im- 
portance. The number of cattle captured in this victorious 
fight was very great, consisting of oxen, cows, sheep, and 
asses. 

Chapter XXXIII is a recapitulation of the first stages 
of the exodus. Moses is told to drive out the old inhabi- 
tants of the land in his journey, for they would be a thorn 
in his side if allowed to remain. 

Chapter XXXV gives directions about dividing the 
land: The Levites were to have forty cities, besides six 
refuge-cities for murderers. The Israelites also had cities 
of refuge to which man-slayers could flee — in cases that is, 
where murder was unintentional; but, if any instrument 
of iron was used in the slaying it was called murder, and 
death was the penalty. 



DEUTERONOMY. 191 



GHAPTER X. 

DEUTERONOMY. 

The name of this book comes from the Greek, signifies 
second law, and with the four preceding books was named 
emphatically the Law. 

In the year 1451 B. C. according to the popular compu- 
tation, all things being ready for crossing the river Jordan, 
all parties must have been impatient of any further delay. 
It seems unaccountable that their great leader should 
have been denied the privilege of accompanying their 
triumphal march on to its grand result. Still, like other 
great-good men who have been faithful to the uttermost, 
he desired, like our own Washington, to leave a farewell 
blessing with his people. So we have a valedictory 
address recounting all the transactions of the previous 
forty years, the commands and warnings, incitements and 
reproofs represented by him as coming from the Lord. 
These thirty chapters are deeply interesting, proving as 
they do that few nobler men than Moses ever lived. He 
assures them that Jehovah was angry with him on their 
account, and shut him out from Judea in His resentment. 
Admirable indeed was his parting counsel. He elaborates 
the commandments — affirms again and again that he had 



192 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

talked with God face to face, but that they should not 
hear God's voice any more. In this prophecy he was un- 
doubtedly mistaken; for, there was to come after him a 
long line of men professing to have had the same familiar 
intercourse — proving it in the same way. The strategy, 
if we may so term it, by which Moses secured the Divine 
sanction to all his mandates did not die with him. 

He assures them in chapter ninth that they were to pass 
over Jordan that day to encounter nations greater in person 
than themselves, secured in walled cites and defended with 
mail-cl ad chariots. He also reminded the people — for he was 
ever most honest in reproof — that they had been rebels from 
the beginning — that he had had to break the famous tables 
of stone because of their idolatry of the calf, and that they 
had perpetually murmured against their Divine Benefactor. 
Long as the address was, it could not but have touched to 
the heart every Hebrew hearer. 

Careful readers of this fifth book do not believe it was 
written by the same hand as the other four, because of the 
marked difference of style. There is apparent a desire to 
excite the people's fears and create a superstitious dread. 
Every future contingency seems to have been foreseen and 
provided for. And it is really a surprise that this single 
speech should contain so man}' matters of real moment — 
even the substance of many a law now in force among 
nations at the height of civilization, after so many centuries 
of progress. 

Let none forget the singular close of a life so eventful: 
He ascended Mount Pisgah, took an' extended view of the 
whole country to the north, then breathed his last breath 



DE UTER ONOMY. 193 

in the land of Moab; " and he buried him." It is generally 
considered that the " he " means Deity, but this can only 
be received in that figurative sense in which the Jews 
attributed every mysterious event — especially every ca- 
lamity — to Divine interposition. Those who had full faith 
that God was with Moses as Washington was with General 
Greene, might say properly enough that the hands of the 
Almighty laid him away; but, remembering the immense 
service he rendered the nation and the world, he was 
entitled to the most respectful burial. 

We are left to conjecture how it was that he died so 
suddenly, yet in perfect good health. At the age of one 
hundred and twenty we are assured his eye was not 
dimmed nor his natural force abated. All Israel lamented 
his departure, as our whole land was said to have mourned 
for Abraham Lincoln. This account of his latter end could 
not have been from his own pen — hardly the book of which 
it is an integral part — critics have therefore assigned it to 
a later period. We cannot, however, question the fact 
that this and the four earlier books existed as we find 
them now at a very ancient date; that they relate to mat- 
ters occurring in the order in which they are stated, and 
that their incidents keep time with events outside of Israel. 
Many revisions have been made since then, and important 
changes, though with no desire of falsifying the narrative. 
But this very short and singular account of the great 
legislator's death will ever be a subject of much specula- 
tion. Men in perfect possession of all their faculties do 
not often pass away so suddenly. Why this silence about 
the disease of which he died ? Why no formality at his 



194 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

funeral ? The Israelites were like all early nations fond 
of ceremony. Joseph had been buried with great pomp. 
Was this first redeemer of Israel afraid of his remains 
becoming a popular idol that he perished thus in the heart 
of an everlasting wilderness — that no stately procession 
bore his remains to their rest — that no gravestone marked 
his peaceful repose ? Without doubting everything called 
history, we cannot doubt that he was a good as well as a 
great man. Doubtless too, the spirit of God, which is the 
spirit of wisdom, rested upon him continually, prompting, 
sustaining, invigorating, and inspiring. This we heartily 
believe, without believing many of the legends that have 
gathered around his glorious memory. May it not be that, 
utterly wearied out with this ever-irritating people, he may 
have sought death, as Solon did and many an Eastern 
sage ? Or, if this is too startling, may he not — like the 
daughter of Jepthah — have gone into the sublime silence of 
the mountain heights to prepare himself for a peaceful 
entrance into the near presence of the Most High ? and 
there, alone, and without struggle or sigh, on some autumn 
sunset have folded his prophetic robe around him and 
passed quietly away with the fading glory of the western 
heavens. 

The thirty-fourth chapter gives this remarkable enco- 
nium, which could not have been from the Lawgiver's own 
hand: "There rose not a prophet since like unto Moses, 
whom the Lord knew face to face.' 1 Now let us see the 
substantial truth of this claim of superior wisdom, superior 
illumination. If freedom is as we all believe essential to 
real manhood, if morality has hardly the ghost of a chance 



DE UTER ONOMY. 195 

when a master's will is enforced by the lash, then, the libe- 
rator in peace of millions of his brethren deserves even a 
higher place than any other emancipator in human history. 
For, had he deserted them because of their ingratitude, 
their fickleness, their cowardice, their superstition in the 
desert — and the thought came into his mind for he is dis- 
tinctly said to have rejected it with horror — had he gone 
back in honest indignation to the domestic peace of Midian, 
the Hebrew name would have been blotted out from history. 
And more, the progress of humanity would have been 
unspeakably impeded. European civilization could not 
have come for ages. The sunny day of Christianity had 
not dawned. A republic of infinite promise would not 
have spread the banner of equal rights on these distant 
shores. Whether he was conscious of the fact or not, this 
intensely religious race had an element absolutely neces- 
sary to the progress of humanity — and for that they were 
the chosen of God. Other nations had other contributions 
to make: Greece with her art; Rome with her law; Egypt 
with natural science; the Orient with sacerdotal tradition; 
but from this bosom of a people clinging to the absolute 
unity of a supremely-righteous Deity alone could come the 
Redeemer from all iniquity. 

And how admirably was this people educated through 
their desert pilgrimage! They had no rallying point, not 
even the graves of their fathers. Moses gave them a 
present Deity represented in a portable shrine; so that 
"their fathers' God before them moved, an awful guide in 
smoke and flame." It was the Lord of Hosts who headed their 
host, cheered their battle, insured their victory as they were 



196 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

faithful, even screened their retreat when they disobeyed. 
They had no national^ — slaves never have — no country, 
no temple, no inviolable home, no hallowed grave, no 
certain future among those Nile brick-yards, so he binds 
them first of all around a common altar, brooded over by a 
present Deity, represented by the folding wings of Cheru- 
bim and the Shekinah light. Next, the fireside tie is 
sealed anew as exclusively theirs. The smile of heaven 
rested peculiarly on them. They were summoned to a 
glorious future. A noble country awaited their approach, 
to be their children's and their children's children through 
countless generations. 

And this peculiar wisdom of his is demonstrated by the 
results — by their entering the land of the Philistines 
entirely changed from what they were on leaving Egypt — 
no longer a cringing, murmuring, fickle, frightened herd 
who were unable to face danger, unable to endure priva- 
tion, unable even to be- grateful to their great preserver. 

And then his institutions : Out of this vagrant horde in 
a vagrant land he designed to create a nation of farmers, 
not soldiers. The wandering of the Arab, the commerce 
of the Phoenician, the standing army of Egypt, he thought 
unfavorable to the highest culture. So he did not lead 
them into a land of spontaneous fertility; did not plant 
them upon the sea-coast; did not encourage adventure 
upon the Mediterranean. And, as long as they abstained 
from commerce, they were like Switzerland, not wealthy 
but contented; not luxurious but independent; not boast- 
ful but thoroughly loyal to Deity. 

His second fundamental idea was peace. He designed 



DEUTERONOMY. 19 1 

to make his people detest war. He represented it as a 
curse like leprosy; he almost banished the horse. (Deut., 
xvii, 16.) He required the presence of every male Jew 
three times a year at the temple service. His failure here, 
where success was too much to hope, should not impair 
our reverence for him who would have no standing army 
pollute the hallowed soil; who rested the defence of the 
land on its yeomanry alone; who intended that his people 
should be kept from those foreign alliances which in after 
days brought so much peril and shame. 

Another noble peculiarity was the agrarian law which 
made every man a landholder, which kept the territory 
from being monopolized, which would deliver England 
now from its worst fears. First, forbidding usury; second, 
decreeing the discharge of debts every seventh year; or- 
daining moreover the reversion of lands to their original 
owner every jubilee year. What can be imagined more 
beautiful than this foundation of the new state which 
secured every Jew an inalienable right to the soil! secured 
the state an army of which eveiw man was the defender 
of his own hearthstone, of a divinely blessed altar, and a 
father's grave! secured patriotism such devoted souls as 
after years of exile could not sing Zion's songs in a strange 
land; nor have yet ceased for eighteen hundred years to 
lift their wailing cry beneath the ancient walls of those 
courts they could not enter alive. 

Now, as to the general morality of this ancient code: 
Barbarous as they were in many things, childish in more, 
their laws are as much in advance of them as of their 
contemporaries — were even singular for humanity in that 



198 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

age, and not always equaled in ours. We forget that there 
were contemporary nations which justified stealing, author- 
ized infanticide, legalized the murder of aged parents, asso- 
ciated lust with worship. None of these blots can be 
traced on the Jewish escutcheon. The tit-for-tat principle 
was universal; and Moses was not fool enough to pretend 
that his poor slaves were able to do what many an enlight- 
ened Christian professes he cannot do — forgive. But he 
did the next best thing: carefully distinguishing homicide 
from murder, he exempted the man-slayer from private 
vengeance, and secured the right of public trial by means 
of his numerous cities of refuge. 

By preventing imprisonment for debt he anticipated the 
latest discovery of modern philanthropy; so did he by 
signally punishing the ever-popular licentiousness — still 
more, by the many checks put upon slavery, the undetected 
crime of his day. By Divine decree the bondsman's life 
was just as sacred as his master's; injury of the slave's 
person secured his emancipation; the female servant's 
chastity was specially protected; seven years' service 
struck off the chains of a Jew. 

Never was the stranger so favored: " Love ye therefore 
the stranger! for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt" — 
words which the heavens seemed opening themselves to 
utter. Every Sabbatic year's fruits were common prop- 
erty. Every other season entitled the foreigner to the last 
gleanings of the field. Even the mercy of Christianity 
was foreshadowed in the provision for the poor, who were 
never to cease out of the land; the prospered were to lend 
without interest, and never to harden their heart against 



DEUTERONOMY. 199 

a brother. The hovel of the poor was a sanctuary — and 
many a minute safeguard like the return of the debtor's 
garment at nightfall, to save him from suffering during 
the chilliness of night, has waited to be brought to light 
by our more perfect knowledge of Jewish customs. But, 
this theme alone were enough for a book. 



200 SCRIPTURE SPECULA1IONS. 



CHAPTER XL 

JOSHUA. 

FROM various modern maps an idea may be formed of 
the relative position of Egypt, Canaan, Mesopotamia, 
and other countries spoken of in the Old Testament. 

The book of Joshua, a continuance of Israelitish history, 
constitutes no part of the writings of Moses or the Pen- 
tateuch As in the latter portion of the last book ascribed 
to Moses is found an account of his speech, so the book of 
Joshua contains the address made at the close of his 
eventful life as a guide to duty, a warning against evil 
practices, and an encouragement to press on in the line of 
advance. None pretend that Joshua wrote the whole of 
this book or the speech which is its most interesting portion. 
Evidently he dictated matter for the one, and at least deliv- 
ered the other. Stuart concludes from the repeated reference 
to Jerusalem, that the book could not have been completed 
until the reign of David. The events recorded cover a 
period of about twenty-five years, from B. C. 1450. There 
is a close connection between the first part and the pre- 
ceding book. After the death of Moses the people natu- 
rally looked for some one as his successor. Joshua being 
the most prominent among them, the thoughts of the 



JOSHUA. 201 

people were fixed on him. Quite certain it is, that none 
were better fitted for the difficult and responsible place. 
Moses himself was not aware of the high stand Joshua 
would take, and the success that was to crown him with a 
glory next his own. Particularly was he mistaken in 
regard to his ability of conversing with the Lord, o'r for 
inducing those under his control to believe that God met 
him for consultation as He met Moses. The same high 
authority made communications to Joshua without reserve. 
Their former leader told the people before he died that 
they should go over Jordan that day; but now Joshua 
promised that they should wait three days. Spies were at 
once sent forward to Shittim. The river is crossed by 
means of a raft, and they seek entertainment for the night 
in the enemy's country, at the house of Rahab a harlot, 
but also an inn-keeper and a linen weaver, in the city of 
Jericho. When on an errand by the Lord's direction, this 
was a singular place for them to stop; possibly it was the 
only safe hiding place, and this woman had a high sense 
of honor. The king of Jericho, hearing that the two spies 
had arrived in his city, sent and demanded them of Rahab, 
who, in order to keep her plighted faith, told what appears 
to have been a falsehood, though apparently there was no 
other way to save the men alive. The harlot having saved 
them, to be fair and honorable the spies were in duty bound 
to save her and her family. Possibly there was no moral 
wrong in it, or in the wars waged by the Israelites against 
the native inhabitants. Authority might have been derived 
from Divine right; there is no certainty of that. The 
desire of one nation to dispossess another and gratify its 



202 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

own lust for power, does not come from true Godliness,, 
from love, gentleness and kindness, but from other and far 
different impulses. The Hittites, the Hivites, the Periz- 
zites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and Jebusites, were 
occupying their own territory by the same universal right 
that other nations occupied theirs. Why should they be 
killed for holding fast to their own, their all ? Why threat- 
ened with extermination ? These questions are not easily 
answered. 

Chapter IV. Jordan, at the place where the Israelites 
crossed over, was an inconsiderable stream, constituting a 
mere boundary rather than an impediment to be particu- 
larly feared. Such streams are of service in aiding de- 
fence; hence the propriety of having something like a 
miracle to distract the attention of the defenders on the 
other side. Joshua must have been aware of his inability 
to proceed without some vindication of his mission. The 
lack of power in that line had been fatal to him. To say 
he constructed a dam that stopped the water in a measure, 
is hardly warranted by the narrative. Nor is it certain 
by what means the flow of water was stayed; though we 
know well enough that the Lord did not pile the water up 
square on either side and keep it so until all the Israelites 
had crossed over. Some, in their anxiety to believe 
enough, can imagine that the Jordan was a broad river, 
and that by a miracle the waters were raised in perpendic- 
ular shape ten, fifteen or twenty feet high, and kept so 
until all the people were safely landed in Jericho, the 
priests not having wet so much as the soles of their shoes. 
Had not Joshua proved his possession of some Divine aid, 



JOSHUA. 203 

all would have considered him a poor leader. The people 
tarried ten days after the army went over, and when they 
passed over are said to come up out of the water. How 
did they come up out of the water if they did not go down 
into it? The story is a trifle mixed up some way. Did 
the water continue heaped up as in a wall on the upper 
side, with a dry bed below, ten days after the army crossed, 
so that the people could get over ? Let all this be as it 
may, the story of the waters being divided got a good 
start somehow, and when once under way such things 
always gain as they go. Any little thing will do to begin 
with. The story took well in Jericho, and great fear came 
upon all the people. These new-comers must be a superior 
order of beings — descendants of the gods or something of 
the sort. To inflame the excitement, many of the miracles 
and wonders wrought in Egypt were rumored abroad, not 
omitting to say that the Red Sea was divided to let them 
pass and then to swallow up their enemies. 

We do not learn that the people in the land which the 
Israelites desired to possess were so depraved as to merit 
extermination. No proof of iniquity except their idolatry 
is given. Because other parties wanted the land occupied 
by these Hittites and all the various other " ites, " they 
were commanded by the Lord through the mouth of Moses, 
Aaron and Joshua, to give it up. As to religious faith, if 
though pagan in the worst form it was sincerely believed 
and productive of good works, it was vastly better than 
none. 

Chapter V. Circumcision had been wholly disregarded 
from the time of starting out of Egypt until after the 



204 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

death of Moses, or about forty years. The Lord spoke to 
Joshua about this. When the neglect was brought to 
their notice great fear fell upon all. Why this ordinance, 
believed by their ancestors to be necessary to salvation, 
had been laid aside, is past all comprehension. Whatever 
other neglect they might have been guilty of, this above 
all things claimed attention. Had the generation who 
died on their journey been lost through this neglect? If 
they were not lost but went to meet their father Abraham 
in heaven, then the rite sinks into insignificance. Either 
there was an efficacy in the observance, or there was not. 
If there was no saving power, then the presumption on 
which the history proceeds is all a superstition; if this 
was the necessary pass-key to the gates of heaven, then, 
the alternative. Many deaths happened in the forty years 
of wandering of those who had never received the sealing 
mark of the covenant — who never could receive the other 
"covenanted mercies of God" as it is said. But now Joshua 
lost no time in preparing sharp knives with which the most 
singular mark of distinction ever invented by man was 
put upon every male. The performance of this operation 
occupied several days. When recovered from the savage 
surgery they felt new assurance of Divine protection. 
Men in all ages have been prone to neglect the religious 
duties considered essential to their salvation, especially 
when wandering without homes and fighting their way 
into a new land. Still, we wonder at the same thing in a 
half-savage race which excites no surprise in ourselves. 

The sixth chapter gives a story which taxes credulity 
to the utmost, and yet it seems to be given without any 



JOSHUA. 205 

figures of speech or poetical embellishment, making part 
of a narrative, indeed all, of which we are commanded to 
believe on pain of perdition. Summed up in few words, 
the statement is that the walls of Jericho were thrown 
down by the priests' blowing of rams' horns. Nothing is 
said as to how the walls were built, of what heig'ht, or 
upon what soil. There are walls in Syria — as some of our 
friends assure us from personal knowledge — of baked 
earth ; one hours' work would overthrow some yards of this 
poor brick; there was a party in the city pledged to give 
all possible help to the host of Israel; were the horns a 
concerted signal for throwing down enough wall for a 
picked company to enter, the capture of the city would 
have been as sure as if no walls at all remained. Upon 
entering, Joshua respected the promise to Rahab, and saved 
her and her household. The victory was clouded over by 
Achan's appropriating to his own use a part of the spoil; 
but it was speedily discovered, the military freebooter was 
summarily punished, and Jehovah renewed His assurance 
to Joshua of unlimited success, and of His special assist- 
ance in future battles. The murder of the sons and daugh- 
ters of Achan, for a crime in which they are not charged 
with participating, violated the universal law that the 
children are not to suffer for their father's sin; and can be 
explained only by that ferocity of spirit necessarily pro- 
duced by a long period of war. 

Chapter VIII. Joshua was not wanting in strategy; 
and when he went against the city of Ai, drew his adver- 
saries into an ambuscade that told in Joshua's favor. A 
great battle 'ensued, in which Ai was badly beaten and 



206 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

most of the citizens slain. The record even says " not one 
escaped." The king they hanged on a tree. This great 
success pleased Joshua so much that he built an altar in 
Mount Ebal, and inscribed there the law in ten sections, 
and gave particular directions about ordinances. Similar 
wholesale slaughters stirred up not only the people he had 
been warring against, but other tribes, all of whom com- 
bined together in a war of defence. By the help of the 
Lord and his own ability and bravery, Joshua overcame 
them all, and they became humble and submissive. 

Chapter IX. .The lives of some were spared by Joshua 
on condition that they became slaves to him and his 
people, or in other words, hewers of wood and drawers of 
water in the house of the Lord. 

Chapter X. The king of Jerusalem and five allied rulers 
hearing how the Jews treated their captives, fearing they 
might in turn be swept from the face of the earth, formed 
an alliance against them and the Gibeonites, and deter- 
mined to wreak summary vengeance upon that traitorous 
community. Upon the appearance of these combined forces 
before Gibeon, Joshua was summoned to its deliverance; 
who not only hastened at once to the city, but, by the aid 
of a hail storm thought to be providential, accomplished 
the destruction of their enemies. Then occurred the re- 
markable command: "Sun! stand thou still upon Gibeon, 
and thou moon in the valley of AjalonP Impossible as it 
stands, because arresting the sun in its course would be 
the destruction of the solar system; but, a very beautiful 
allegory of industry's lengthening out the day, as Lord 
Brougham when Chancellor of England was said to have 



JOSHUA. 20? 

lived four years in one. If it is asked why Joshua desired 
a double portion of time, the answer may be that his ene- 
mies under six divisions were widely scattered; and that 
the period from sunrise to sunset was not sufficient to 
inflict chastisement upon all. He certainly made no pre- 
tensions to astronomy, so that the poetical conception of 
lengthened daylight should seem so absurd to him as it 
does to us. Our common custom is to think the time short- 
ened when a work is upon us which we find it hard to 
accomplish. This is probably the natural difference of 
race. 

Joshua did not stay his hand, but pushed on from con- 
quering to conquer. He and his forces did the killing; 
they could wield the sword, trusting all the while to Jeho- 
vah to accomplish the promised results. He smote Mak- 
kedah with the edge of the sword, utterly destroyed all 
the souls that were therein, and served that king as he 
had the king of Jericho. He proceeded next to Libnah, 
took it, and smote with the edge of the sword all the souls 
therein, not excepting the king, hanging him on a tree. 
Next he took Lachish, and smote it in like manner, leaving 
no soul alive. And because Horarn, king of Gezer, came 
to the aid of Lachish, he and all his people were slain. 
Next the besom of destruction sweeps over Eglon, leaving 
nothing alive. The next point of attack was Hebron, 
which he took, and again put all the people to the sword. 
Next they move against Debir, take that in like manner 
and slay all within it. The rulers of these country places 
called kings, were killed and hung upon trees. Joshua 
also smote all the country of the hills south of the vale; 



208 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS, 

and of the springs and all their kings; he left none remain- 
ing, but utterly destroyed all that breathed. All this was 
as "the Lord God had commanded." The like was never 
seen on the earth before or since. Women and children, 
little ones and sucklings, were all slaughtered by that 
intense zeal which claimed for itself Divine authority. 
And Joshua smote them from Kedesh-barnea unto Gaza, 
and all the country of Goshen unto Gibeon. All these 
kings, their people and lands did Joshua take, as he evi- 
dently believed in the service of Jehovah, who determined 
to have idolatry rooted out. The excitement by this time 
must have been intense through all that region. 

Chapter XI. There still remained in the land that the 
Israelites desired to occupy a vast number of scattered 
villages with their independent rulers, still unconquered. 
These all consulted together as to what could be done to 
arrest the progress of this fearfully savage destroyer. So 
numerous were those who sought to overthrow Joshua 
that they " equaled in number the sand that is upon the 
sea-shore;" as all simple nations in a universal poetry de- 
scribe a great number. The Lord told Joshua not to be 
afraid; for he would deliver them up to him by the next 
day. How very handy to have the fighting done, and 
Joshua and his men left only the pleasing task of picking 
up the gleanings of the field of battle ! We are assured 
that they killed every soul. None were left alive of all 
the mighty host that beleaguered Israel. Joshua took 
Hazo'r, and smote the king thereof, and smote all the peo- 
ple with the edge of the sword and burnt all their cities; 
and yet Jerusalem we know was not taken. Not one 



JOSHUA. 209 

city made peace with the children of Israel save the 
Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon; all others they cap- 
tured and slew. The Lord incited them to battle against 
Israel to their entire destruction. Joshua also swept 
away the Anakims and their cities. Nothing was left. 
So, according to the very general statement, the whole of 
that portion of the country was subdued and possessed. 

Chapter XII. The kings of the devastated country are 
all enumerated — thirty-one in the whole. 

Chapter XIII. Joshua was old, and the Lord told him 
so; and also that there was still more land to possess, 
more men and women to slay, more cities to burn, and 
more countries to conquer. Mercy was shown by the 
Israelites to a few who were allowed to live and remain 
with them — some of which remain, according to verse 
thirteenth, " unto this day." The insertion of this sen- 
tence here and in many other places in the Old Testa- 
ment, shows perhaps that these were marginal notes, 
which in process of time crept into the text. If not 
written entirely new at such later times, great changes 
were made in the sacred history. Is this sufficiently borne 
in mind by scripture students ? 

Chapter XIV. Joshua and the fathers of the tribes 
make a distribution of the land. Much is recounted in 
this chapter and others after it as to what Moses said, as 
if he were present, though dead already about seven 
years. It is not worth while to repeat the names of 
places and the divisions of territory. Made as they were 
by Joshua and the heads of the tribes, they were probably 
just and equitable. This was done B. C. 1444. 



210 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Chapter XX. The Lord spake unto Joshua and said: 
■" Appoint cities of refuge" for those who may kill a man not 
designing to take his life; if pursued they should not be 
given up, because they did it unwittingly, but should re- 
main there until brought to judgment. This was like a 
modern imprisonment, the homicide awaiting trial by a 
proper court. These cities of refuge were named and es- 
tablished by Joshua. 

Chapter XXI. Places in the suburbs were pointed out 
where cattle could be kept. " And the Lord gave unto 
Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. 
And they had all the good things promised to them, full 
and complete." This statement seems to be contradicted 
in the next chapter. 

Chapter XXIII. Some years after the wars waged by 
the Israelites to gain possession of the desired territory 
had ceased, Joshua called together the principal men of 
the nation, and made a long harangue. They were ex- 
horted to be courageous, for one should be able to chase a 
thousand; and, as for fighting, the Lord he said would do 
that for them. Intermarrying with the native population 
was forbidden. Joshua told them the Lord would no more 
drive out the nations as he had done, but they should re- 
main forever, and be snares and traps, scourges and 
thorns to them until the Israelites perished from off that 
goodly land ! Just before this (if we credit the account), 
all the nations had been killed, and the Israelites had full 
possession of the land. Joshua died at the advanced age 
of one hundred and ten. B. C. 1426. 



JUDGES. 211 



CHAPTER XII. 

JUDGES. 

FROM Joshua's death to Solomon's embraces a period of 
four centuries and a half, from 1426 to 9T6 B. C. 

Of the authorship of this particular book nothing is 
known. It has been ascribed to Samuel without any au- 
thority; nor can a period be fixed for its composition, since 
it is made up of very ancient documents with very modern 
comments; the last verse of the last chapter must have 
been added after there were kings in Israel. Its narrative 
reaches down to 1406 B. 0. 

Notwithstanding the promise of the Israelites possessing* 
the entire land, the -native population was not wholly 
driven out; nor were the new-comers free for a day from 
their two cardinal sins, idolatry and licentiousness. So 
that the protecting arm of Jehovah did not keep them from 
being frequently brought into captivity; and this whole 
book is a succession of apostacies, punishments and deliv- 
erances. After the death of Joshua, the people demanded 
some one in his place who should rule as judiciously and 
fight as valiantly as he had done. The fighter, it seems, 
could be far more easily found than the ruler. Though 
few of the so-called Judges who succeeded fought on so 
grand a scale and with such permanent results. 



212 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Joshua had left his people in the best condition he could, 
though by no means at peace with their warlike neighbors. 
Armor could not safely be laid aside, nor system in the 
march of their armies be neglected, though no one could 
be found to fill the place of Joshua. As usual, they 
looked to the Lord for guidance, and asked who should 
lead their battle against the Canaanites. The answer was 
for Judah to go up, and the land should be delivered into 
his hand. To make all certain he took his brother Simeon 
with him. Success attended the expedition, and the Ca- 
naanites and the Perezzites were delivered into their hand, 
and ten thousand Philistines slain at Bezek. Adonibezek 
fled, but was pursued and caught, and his thumbs and 
great toes cut off by the Israelites. As a consolation in 
that mutilated condition, he reflected that he had served 
seventy kings the same way. Such acts as these show 
the barbarity of the times. Caleb promised his daughter 
Achsah in marriage to the one who would take Kirjath- 
sepher. So her cousin Othniel, the son of Kenaz, took it. 
Caleb according to his word not only gave him his daugh- 
ter, but a large extent of country with springs of water. 
Judah continued to war against the inhabitants of the 
mountain with success, but in the valley their enemies' 
chariots defied their assault. 

Here again occurs one of those convincing proofs that 
this book, as well as others, was written long after the 
transactions they record: "And the children of Benjamin 
did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; 
but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in 
Jerusalem unto this day." — i, 21. Meaning a long time 



JUDGES. 213 

after. The house of Joseph went up against Bethel; and 
entering it by means of a spy extirpated the people, as 
the practice then was. This spy's life was spared and he 
built a city " which is called Luz unto this day," making 
it evident that the transaction was at some date long 
previous. 

Chapter II. The sin of idolatry, to which they were so 
prone, was pressed home upon them. The Lord's anger 
waxed hot, and when they asked for a deliverer, Othniel 
the son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb, was said 
to have been named by the Lord. He took command and 
secured them forty years of peace. 

Chapter III. After that the Israelites were subject to 
the king of Moab eighteen years; but not liking their 
king they had recourse to that shortest of all ways to be 
rid of a bad ruler, assassination. A man named Ehud was 
ready to do a cruel deed in a base way. No specific 
charges were brought against the victim of their hate — it 
was enough that he was not liked, and that his death 
seemed to them the only certain deliverance. Let us see 
how this man Ehud acted, and how he approached the 
king with a lie in his mouth pretending he bore a royal 
message; but really having no other message from man 
or God but his own thirst for blood. God certainly does 
not send messages in that way to innocent people. After 
putting the king to death, the Israelites slaughtered ten 
thousand of the Moabites, all men of valor. The most 
wonderful exploit was reserved for Shamgar, who killed 
six hundred with an ox-goad. And so the invaders 
prevailed. These Israelites who were to possess that 

Bl5 



214 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

beautiful land of Canaan, as the reader will readily per- 
ceive, never had it all in peaceful possession. As soon as 
one trial had ended another succeeded; and what was 
exceedingly noteworthy for a people under the peculiar 
care and guidance of God, all these evils came upon them 
in consequence of their sin and wickedness, chiefly idol- 
atry and fornication. Soon therefore they fell into the 
hands of Jabin, king of Canaan, a warlike monarch having 
nine hundred chariots of iron, by whom they were op- 
pressed twenty years. All looked dark to them; but, 
while they pondered upon their sad condition the Lord — 
who had allowed them to be oppressed so long — appeared 
for their relief in the person of a woman named Deborah, 
at once a prophetess and a judge in Israel. She called 
a man named Barak, and bade him go to Mount Tabor 
with ten thousand men, and Sisera would be delivered into 
his hand. Barak consented to do this if she would go 
with him. 

This Sisera was the commander of the forces of Jabin, 
and we may fairly suppose had the qualities of a good 
general, and with his chariots of iron was a formidable 
adversary. Yet, with the promise of Deborah, Barak 
marched against him with perfect faith in victory, and 
triumphed. Sisera, completely routed, left his chariot 
in great alarm and fled till he met Jael, the wife of Heber. 
She manifested delight at seeing him, and expressed her 
friendship by telling him to fear not. And yet this treach- 
erous woman betrayed his confidence: as soon as he fell 
asleep in the place she had pointed out for him, she drove 
a tent peg through his head into the ground, and he died. 



JUDGES. 215 

Sisera's men in their flight were overtaken and every one 
perished by the sword. 

Chapter V. After the treachery and slaughter, Deborah 
and Barak sang a song unto the Lord. This was all 
natural enough then. This oldest of martial odes shows 
the exultatation of exceedingly fierce, not to sa}^ brutal, 
natures. Deborah attributed to God her irrepressible long- 
ing to curse the enemies of Israel. 

Chapter VI. The Israelites went into bondage to the 
Midianites seven years, who with the Amalekites and 
various other nations came against them in number as 
grasshoppers and countless camels. Such extravagant 
expressions as these ought not to be forgotten. " Camels 
without number and men as grasshoppers for multitude," 
were never seen by the Israelites or any other nation. As 
they were greatly alarmed, terror magnified every thing 
immensely. But in all seasons of peril and distress they 
were led to expect some new wonder or miracle. In pro- 
cess of time the Lord sent a prophet who told them not to 
fear; next an angel came, for angels' visits were not unfre- 
quent then. This one sat him down in the shade of an 
oak, and told Gideon that the Lord was with him, and that 
he should save Israel. His inability seemed to stare him 
in the face; but, as the Lord assured him he should smite 
the Midianites, his courage; came. After the ceremony of 
making ready a kid, with unleavened cakes and a bowl of 
broth, the angel departed. Gideon did not seem to realize 
that he had been face; to face with an angel until the angel 
left. Then Gideon built an altar, and took one of his 
father's oxen and made a burnt offering. The next morn- 



216 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

ing the people saw that the altar of Baal was thrown 
down. Joash said, if Baal was of any worth he could 
plead his own cause; but he did not. Then all the armies 
opposed to Israel prepared for battle in the valley of 
Jezreel. Gideon blew a trumpet and sent messengers in 
all directions to rally the people. But, to know whether 
he was to save Israel, he experimented with a fleece of 
wool — an entirely new form of divination. The fleece of 
wool in the first instance was wet in the morning and the 
earth dry, he having laid the fleece out before nightfall; 
but in the second case, the wool being laid out as before, 
in the morning it was dry while the earth was wet. How 
this matter of the wool ought to be explained, or how it 
was that Gideon could break down an altar of such dimen- 
sions as the one erected to Baal in a single night, and cut 
down an extensive grove, we cannot say. 

Chapter VII. Then Jerubbaal — Gideon — rose early in 
the morning and pitched near the well of Harod. Di- 
rected from heaven to send all the cowards back, his force 
was reduced from twenty-two thousand to ten thousand. 
And the Lord said the number was still too large, and 
commanded Gideon to take them down to the water, and 
every one that lapped water with his tongue like a dog 
was to be set on one side, and those that bowed down on 
their knees to drink, on the other. Then the Lord declared 
that by the three hundred men who lapped he should save 
Israel and capture the Midianites. So they started, this 
little band of three hundred with haversacks well filled, 
each man having a trumpet in his hand. However, they 
deemed it best to reconnoitre and find out the situation of 



JUDGES. 217 

their enemies. Phurah and Gideon started together, and 
found their foes as they did before this in multidude as 
grasshoppers, and the camels as the sand by the sea-side. 
One of the Midianites had dreamed a dream, and Gideon 
heard him telling it, and heard another Midianite interpret 
the dream to the effect that they were to fall by the hand 
of the Lord and the hand of Gideon. With this inspiring- 
news Gideon returned, and told his three hundred men to 
arise, and dividing them into three companies, he put a 
trumpet into every man's hand and an empty pitcher, with 
a lamp inside of the pitcher. All were instructed to look 
to their leader, " and when I blow with a trumpet, I and 
all they that are with me, then blow ye the trumpet on 
every side of the camp, and say ' the sword of the Lord 
and of Gideon.' " Gideon with his hundred men opened 
the battle in the darkness and stillness of the night, just 
after the Midianites had set a new watch, by blowing 
with their trumpets, breaking their pitchers, and at the 
same time exposing the brilliant light of the lamps as 
they had been particularly directed. Each man held a 
trumpet in his right hand and a pitcher in his left. In the 
stillness of night the first blast from these trumpets was 
enough to startle any army when awakened from quiet 
slumbers. The effect was also increased by the loud 
shouting: "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon." 

There were only throe hundred of those men, but 
they were admirably used to terrify a large army sur- 
prised in their sleep. The representation about the num- 
ber of the Midianites must be taken with some allowance. 
Numbers sometimes do QOl avail much, and if a portion 



218 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

are frightened the whole gives way; so this army that 
could not be numbered were all thrown into confusion by 
only a handful of men. The next thing therefore was to 
get them killed, for we are to presume they were too panic- 
stricken to turn upon their pursuers. The Lord that had 
so often aided the Israelites was ready to help them by 
inciting the Midianites to slay each other, and in this con- 
dition of destruction they fled to Bethshittah. Seeing all 
this the Israelites, who at first turned back, rallied and pur- 
sued on. Two of the Midianite princes were taken; Orel) 
and Zeeb, their heads taken off and carried to Gideon on 
the other side of Jordan. 

Chapter VIII. Gideon pursued the retreating Midian- 
ites. Asking for bread at the villages through which he 
passed but receiving none, he told them that in due time 
this unkindness would be punished. The sequel was that 
the Midianites were entirely subjected and all was quiet 
through the days of Gideon. Forty years were a long pe- 
riod for them to live without war. Gideon died at a good 
old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash, his 
father. He had had three score and ten sons and as many 
wives. He also had one son by his concubine whose name 
he called Abimelech. As soon as Gideon was dead, the 
children of Israel turned and went whoring after Baalim, 
and made Baal-berith their God, and forgot Jehovah who 
had saved them so signally and so often. 

Chapter IX. After the death of Gideon, Abimelech, his 
son by the concubine, desired to reign over the people; so 
he went to his father's house, slew all his seventy broth- 
ers, but not Jotharn, and had himself proclaimed king. 



JUDGES. 219 

This Jotham, the only surviving legitimate son of Gideon, 
ascended Mount Gerizim, lifted up his voice and said: 
"Hearken unto me." So he put forth a fable, saying: 
"The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over 
them. Many of the trees declined the honor; but when 
they came to the bramble (meaning Abimelech), it said, 
Come and put your trust in my shadow! if not, let the fire 
come down from heaven and devour the cedars of Leb- 
anon!" As his father's house had been abused by the 
course Abimelech had taken, Jotham said a fire would 
consume the house of Millo and devour Abimelech. When 
he had reigned three years over Israel, Gaal, the son of 
Eed, stirred up a revolt which was put down with fearful 
vengeance; the city was demolished, and the ground of 
Shechem sown with salt. Some fled to a very strong tower, 
still standing in the city, which Abimelech was essaying 
to take. From this tower a woman threw upon his head 
a piece of millstone, inflicting a wound he supposed to be 
mortal. Dreading the disgrace of being slain by a woman, 
he called to his armor-bearer to draw his sword and thrust 
him through, which he did. 

Once more the Israelites relapse into idolatry, serving 
all the various gods held in esteem by the surrounding 
heathen. The Lord was angry at this, and sold them into 
the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the 
children of Ammon, who vexed and plagued the children 
of Israel and oppressed them for eighteen years in the land 
of the Amorites, which is Gilead. Besides that, the children 
of Ammon crossed over Jordan to fight against Judah, so 
that the distress was extreme. The Ammonites encamped 



220 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

in Gilead, and the Israelites in Mizpeh. The question was 
asked: Who would begin to fight against the children of 
Amnion ? Among the mighty men of Gilead was Jepthah, 
the son of Gilead by a harlot. As soon as the Ammonites 
began to make themselves felt, the Israelites summoned 
Jepthah to be their general. He consented only on condi- 
tion that he should be their permanent ruler if victorious. 
Jepthah made a most singular and uncalled for vow to the 
effect that " if the children of Ammon fall into my hands, 
then whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to 
meet me, when I return in peace from the children of 
Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up 
for a burnt offering." They were delivered into his hands, 
and he smote them in twenty cities, and they were subdued. 
When Jepthah returned home his daughter and only child 
came out to meet him with timbrels and dances. His 
distress at seeing her was sore. He told her his vow, in 
the fulfillment of which she signified a ready acquiesence, 
but asked for two months' time in which to bewail her 
virginity; and it was given. At the end of that time she 
returned to have her father fulfill his vow. 

Jepthah judged Israel six years and he died. After that 
Ibzan judged Israel. He had thirty sons and thirty 
daughters; the girls were (as we should say) changed off 
for as many wives for his sons. He was judge seven years 
until his death. After him Elon was judge ten years. 
After him Abdon, who had forty sons and thirty nephews, 
the riders of as many ass colts. He was judge eight 
years. 

Chapter XIII. There was a certain man of Zorah, of the 



JUDGES. 221 

family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah, whose 
wife was barren. When we hear it named any where in 
the Bible that a certain woman was barren, be sure in the 
sequel it will not only turn out that she bears children, but 
the issue will be famous in history. The one now in hand 
proved to be the strongest man the world ever knew. 
Another baptised in the wilderness, living on the singular 
diet of locusts and wild honey. The greatest of all founded 
a new religion, opened the way to redeem a world, saved 
the lost, and controlled evil spirits. Manoah's wife (as it 
happened generally), was visited by an angel; as both she 
and her husband declared. These heavenly ambassadors 
had bodies of flesh and blood, as we are compelled to 
believe from the account itself, for they took food like other 
earthly people. Manoah prepared food for the angel that 
came to him, which leads us naturally to think he was 
a man. None would presume to fix up a hearty dinner for 
a veritable spirit. The angel opens the object of his visit 
by stating what was well known before, that she was 
barren. Many cases may be gathered of women who did 
not bear children for many years after marriage, who 
in time became mothers; and that too without miracle 
or angelic aid. Miracle is not a thing that takes place 
in accordance with nature, but in seeming violation of 
nature. Manoah entreats the Lord "to let the man of 
God come again and tell us what we shall do unto the 
child that shall be born." The angel had told them 
before that she should conceive and bear a son. Very 
soon the " man " came again, and the term " angel " is omit- 
ted, though in the next verse he is called " angel " once 



222 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

more. For it is too evident both names referred to one 
and the same person, who was man of God, angel or man, 
every messenger being, in the proper sense of the word, 
an angel. Whoever he was, he proceeds to direct the 
woman to habits of abstinence, preparatory to the birth 
of her child. She was to touch nothing that came from 
the vine, strong drink or any unclean thing; and the child 
should be a Nazarite from his very birth. 

Asked his name, this mysterious messenger refused to 
give any; and, for a wonder, refused to eat. An offering 
was made ready, and while it was burning this angel or 
man went up into the heavens, as it appeared to Manoah 
and his wife. After a while, not seeing him again, they 
said the Lord had appeared to them and they should surely 
die. But in due time the son was born and called by the 
name of Samson. 

Chapter XIV. Samson's first exploit took place on the 
way to visit a Philistine girl, for whom he had conceived 
a strong passion. Meeting a young lion, he tore him to 
pieces as though 'twere a kid. Finding bees and honey 
in the carcass of this lion awhile after, he composed a 
riddle as follows: " Out of the eater came forth meat; out 
of the strong came forth sweetness." A bet was made by 
him that no one could interpret his puzzle. To his surprise 
they said : " What is stronger than a lion ? what is sweeter 
than honey ? " Samson lost the bet of thirty changes of 
raiment. Not having the money or the disposition to pur- 
chase the clothing, resort was had to another expedient, 
and thirty men were slain, their garments taken off and 
the bet satisfied. 



JUDGES. 223 

Chapter XV. Samson caught three hundred foxes — to 
carry out his next performance — tied them in pairs, tail to 
tail with a firebrand between, then let them loose into the 
harvest fields of the Philistines, and burned them with 
their vineyards and olives. If foxes were plenty, still 
Samson had extraordinary luck in taking so many and 
prevailing on them to hold still while the firebrands were 
fastened on. May not the story have been exaggerated by 
being repeated from mouth to mouth, and from one gene- 
ration to another ? Further to afflict the Philistines for 
burning his wife and her father, he " smote them hip and 
thigh," no doubt killing very many. The men of Judah, 
Samson's tribe, were subject to the Philistines; and, on 
account of his conduct, expected a terrible retaliation; so 
three thousand of them gathered together to bind him 
securely and deliver him into the hands of his enemies. 

Lest there should be some doubt as to the safe binding 
of this strong man, the men of Judah made use of two 
new cords, which he broke with great ease; and displayed 
his strength further by killing a thousand Philistines with 
the new jaw-bone of an ass; and when thirsty from the ex- 
ercise, made a hole in the jaw-bone from which he got 
water to drink. Next he went to Gaza, where he per- 
formed another exploit; carrying away the gates of the 
city and the two door-posts. 

Chapter XVI. Again Sampson is in love: this time with 
a woman called Delilah, a resident in the valley of Sorek, 
whose treachery is as infamous as the rest of her life. By 
his own suggestion the Philistines bind him with seven 
green withes, with new ropes, and weave his hair into 



224 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

a web, his wife all the time helping them, but he again 
and again sets himself free. After that he told them his 
strength was in his hair, which they cut off; but it grew 
again and he was strong as ever. His eyes had been put 
out, and his body secured with fetters of brass; so, while 
the Philistines were making merry over their good for- 
tune, they let him loose for their sporty Not being able to 
see, he clasped the two central pillars of the building, 
upon the roof of which were three thousand people; over- 
turned them and destroyed many lives; making his own 
funeral pile the dead bodies of his own and his country's 
foes. He had judged Israel twenty years, and a queer 
judge he must have been, this buffoon, profligate, bravo ! 

A certain man named Micah obtained for himself house- 
gods, an ephod and a teraphim, hired a mere wayfarer 
to be his priest, agreeing to pay him ten shekels of 
silver by the year with board and clothing — miserable 
pay for a miserable man, which did not satisfy him long. 
When he left Micah for a "louder call" elsewhere, there 
were missing the three images which he had in charge, 
and other articles of little value. This Levite could 
probably talk well, and tell as near as many others 
what God would and would not, or more probably he 
was a handy manager of the altar service. 

Chapter XVIII. Micah followed the vagrant priest to 
get back his goods, but the priest was too nimble for him. 
Micah returned empty. Not discouraged at all, nor dis- 
graced by seeming sacrilege, this priest settled among the 
Danites, where one of the house-gods was set up. Noth- 
ing can be truer, says Professor Stuart, in reference to 



JUDGES. 225 

these times, than the last words of the book of Judges: 
" There was no king in Israel — every man did what was 
right in his own eyes." 



226 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

RUTH. 

THE period of history called Judges, ending about 1096 
B. C, embraces the time of Ruth's stor}\ One can 
hardly fail to be interested with this picture of rural life so 
many thousands of years ago. Some parts of it might be 
imagined as indicating improper conduct, simply on account 
of our ignorance of Oriental manners as they were and are. 
Society was constituted differently then from what we find 
it among us. Proper allowance on this account should 
be made. With a decided moral bearing, the story has 
every appearance of being founded on fact. Fidelity to 
friends, a beautiful trait in human character, is here fol- 
lowed with results that fill one's heart with peace and 
praise. Cases are perpetually occurring where the " chari- 
ties that soothe and bless" are disregarded, and in their 
place we see a cold selfishness so well calculated to chill 
the finer sensibilities and poison the heart. 
■ Bethlehem in Judah was visited by a famine in the days 
of Judges, on which account a man by the name of Elim- 
elech departed with his wife Naomi and her two sons, who 
took to themselves wives of the daughters of Moab. After 
that both these sons died leaving widows, one named Orpha, 
the other Ruth. Famines, like other evils, come to an end 



RUTH. 227 

sooner or later, as did the one in Bethlehem, which was 
followed by several seasons of plenty, and Naomi ex- 
pressed a desire to return. The three widows naturally 
consulted together for the future. Naomi, like all good 
mothers-in-law, was anxious about Orpha and Ruth, and 
advised them not to go with her, but remain in their na- 
tive land with their own mothers. She kissed them both 
affectionately and gave them a tearful benediction. Affec- 
tion is what sweetens life, and these three widows had 
more true comfort in their destitute condition than thou- 
sands who have abundant wealth. Money can buy many 
things, but tender sympathy and true love are never for 
sale. The young widows were melted to tears, for they 
were rich in one another's love. In their own native land 
and among their kinsfolk, some chance for at least a com- 
fortable living lay before them; while IJethlehem in Judah 
could hardly be expected to afford even that. In their 
tender anxiety the suggestion was made that Naomi 
might marry again, and raise up other sons to be their 
husbands. This, she assured them, her advanced years 
made impossible. They all lifted up their voices and 
wept again. Orpha kissed her, and returned to her Mo- 
abite relatives; but Ruth determined to accompany her 
mother-in-law back to Bethlehem, saying, " 1 will go where 
thou goest; thy people shall be my people, thy God my 
God." When Naomi and Ruth reached the end of their 
journey, they found quite a gathering in honor of their 
arrival. Some affected surprise at the changed appear- 
ance of the thrice bereaved mother, but she answered thai 
the Lord had dealt bitterly with her, and for that reason 



228 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

they must call her Mara, as she went out from them full 
of good things and returned empty. 

Chapter II. It was the time of barley-harvest; and 
Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of 
wealth of the family of Elimelech, by the name of Boaz. 
A most creditable practice prevailed in Bethlehem at that 
time and through Judea generally, of allowing the poor 
to glean after the reapers in the field. To make this 
gleaning a greater object, something more than was 
naturally scattered upon the ground was often left by 
design; so that many were able to lay up quite a store for 
time of need, and in no way could the wealthy better 
show their gratitude for abundant crops. Upon consulta- 
tion with Naomi, Ruth decided to glean in the fields of 
Boaz, which he was visiting at the time to look after the 
harvest. Noticing a comely young woman about the 
grounds, he naturally asks as to whence she came. The 
answer was that she came from Moab with Naomi. Ruth 
then asked leave to glean in the fields. Boaz graciously 
told her not to go anywhere else, but to remain in that 
vicinity with the maidens. This step in respect to Ruth 
was a prudent one, as it extended to a friendless young 
woman the protection of female company. Not only this, 
but he cautioned the young men to pay her proper respect. 
For this favorable consideration Ruth thanked him in the 
humblest manner, after the oriental fashion of bowing 
herself to the earth. The love and kindness she had mani- 
fested to her mother-in-law had been mentioned to Boaz. 
Her desire had also been made known of finding a home 
in Israel. He declared that the Lord God of Israel would 



RUTH. 229 

reward her. She was thus gaining rapidly in the favor of 
Boaz. At meal times he invited her to eat with him at 
the same table. The reapers were also told to let fall 
handfuls occasionally for her to gather. After beating 
out her apron full at evening there was an ephah. Naomi 
was informed of the good fortune that had attended Ruth 
in the field, and the barley was shared with her. Ruth 
also told her that the man in whose sight she had found 
favor was a near relative. 

Chapter III. All thus far went well. Ruth was advised 
by Naomi that Boaz would be winnowing that night at the 
threshing floor; that she had best wash and anoint herself, 
put on comely raiment, and mark well the place where he 
would lie down; then, when all was still, go forth softly 
and uncover his feet, lie down and await the result. The 
custom universally preserved in Palestine of both sexes 
lying down to sleep without changing one's garments, upon 
a mat or rug, with no more feeling of impropriety than 
men and women worship together in America, entirely 
changes the aspect of the narrative. Besides, the damsel 
had claims upon Boaz as the next of kin, which his ad- 
vanced years and the existence of another near relative 
inclined him to waive. So that the strange course she 
took was simply hurrying the proper claimant to her hand 
to a decision. Boaz, overcome with fatigue, was not at 
first aware of her presence; by-and-by he perceived souk; 
one at his feet by the side of the grain, and asked who it 
was. She answered that it was his kinswoman Ruth, and 
begged him to spread li is skirt over her, as is the present 
method of betrothal among the same people in Syria, lie 

slG 



230 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

praises her for preferring him to younger men, and enga- 
ges himself to do the part of a kinsman to her if the other 
relative declines. The counsel to remain quiet until day- 
break and then return as it were by stealth, might have 
been to secure their future nuptials without any disturb- 
ance by other claims, or to save Ruth from the reproach of 
thrusting upon him an unsought bride. He presented to 
her all the grain she could carry, measuring it out method- 
ically, placing the sack no doubt upon her head, and 
deferring the final decision of the matter until the public 
appeal had been made at the gate of the city, the common 
seat of justice in many oriental lands. It is clear that no 
passion mingled in the interview. The mother, to whom 
the maiden returned with daylight, assured her that matters 
would take their due course, and her rights be established 
according to the law. As her previous husband had but 
one nearer relative than Boaz, and he renounced (as we 
should say) in open court the Jewish privilege of redeem- 
ing the land of the deceased by marrying the widow, the 
contract was made by loosing the shoe from the foot of 
the recusant kinsman and giving it to Boaz. He then 
called all the people to witness that he had purchased the 
wife of Mahlon to be his wife, that the name of the dead 
should not be cut off from among his brethren. 

And so the fair Moabite was married, and the son which 
she bore him in due time was called Obed, who became 
the father of Jesse, the father of David. Thus ends a story 
of deep interest because it forms the regular line of descent 
from Abraham down to Jesus of Nazareth. Samuel is con- 
jectured to be its author. 



FIRST SAMUEL. 231 



CHAPTER XIV. 

FIRST SAMUEL. 

THE first book of Samuel treats of what took place for 
about one hundred and fifteen years succeeding 1171 
B. C. 

Chapter I. Mount Ephraim was the place where a cer- 
tain man by the name of Elkanah dwelt, who had two 
wives, Peninnah and Hannah. The latter, though much 
beloved by her husband, had no children. They were all 
careful in regard to religious duties, visiting Shiloh every 
year to worship and sacrifice as the custom was, though 
Hannah's life was embittered by having no son. While 
at the shrine making her annual visit, she prayed passion- 
ately for this great blessing; and as priest Eli noticed that 
her lips moved without any sound, he accused her of having 
taken strong drink. The charge was repelled with such 
solemn asseveration that Eli bade her go in peace, for her 
prayer should be answered. Elkanah and his wife arose 
early in the morning, worshiped, and immediately set out 
for their home in Ram ah. Soon after she conceived, and 
in due time a son was born, who was called Samuel because 
she had asked him of the Lord — El meaning Jehovah. The 
next year, as tin; child was not weaned, she went not up 
to the nation's shrine at Shiloh, 



232 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

When the child Samuel was six years old, his mother 
went up with him to Eli, with an ottering of three bullocks, 
an ephah of flour and a bottle of wine, and lent him to the 
Lord as long as he lived. 

Chapter II. Hannah is then represented as making a 
long talk, of course addressing herself to Eli. The sons 
of Eli realize the old proverb of the sons of ministers 
being called sons of Belial, which we are to understand as 
meaning sons of the Devil. When the people offered their 
sacrifice according to custom, the priest's servant, while 
the flesh was in seething, came with a flesh-hook of three 
teeth in his hand and drew out from the kettle all that the 
hook would take for the priest. This was done in Shiloh 
unto all the Israelites that assembled there. In whatever 
manner the sacrifice was made, the priests were entitled 
to a share. The sons of Eli sinned by taking more than 
was proper; and by force when it was not given willingly. 

After the birth of Samuel, Hannah became the mother 
of three other sons and two daughters. 

Eli had heard how his sons conducted, and that they 
polluted the women who assembled at the door of the 
tabernacle. This wickedness in his own family grieved 
the old priest to the heart, knowing as he did that such 
corruption was certain to spread downwards. 

Samuel demeaned himself well in all respects, gaining 
favor with God and man. An angel, called " a man of 
God," declared him to be chosen of the Lord to burn incense, 
to offer sacrifice and wear an ephod; but, that the day 
would come when the Lord would cut off the arm of Eli 
and the arm of his father's house; that there should not be 



FIRST SAMUEL. 238 

an old man in his house forever; all the increase of his 
house should die in the flower of their age. As a sure 
indication of the fulfillment of this prediction, his two sons 
were to perish together. Also the Lord declared that he 
would raise up a faithful priest, and build him a house, 
and every one that was left of the house of Eli should 
come and crouch to him for a morsel of bread. 

Chapter III. About the time Samuel was thirty years 
old he ministered unto the Lord before Eli. While lying- 
down to sleep he heard — or thought he heard — a voice 
calling him. This calling was repeated four times, when 
Samuel answered, and the Lord told him He would destroy 
the house of Eli because of their iniquity. Samuel re- 
peated this to Eli and it came to the ears of the people, 
who at once declared this foreteller of merited judgment a 
prophet of the Lord. 

In the next chapter we learn that Israel went to battle 
against the Philistines and suffered a sore defeat. To raise 
their faint hearts the ark of the Lord was taken from Shiloh 
and brought to the camp with great shouting. The Philis- 
tines heard the noise and learned what had been done. 
With a full knowledge of all the superiority claimed by 
Israel in the protection of Deity, and the wonders wrought 
in Egypt and by the presence of the ark, the Philistines 
joined battle, made a great slaughter, killed thirty thou- 
sand footmen, slew the two sods of Eli, and captured the 
ark of the Lord. The news of all this was carried by a 
messenger to poor blind Eli, then ninety-eight years old, 
and the shock caused his death; fainting and falling back- 
wards, his neck was broken. The wife of his second son 



234 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

had a premature birth, and died saying: "The glory of 
Israel has departed." Thus ended the house of Eli, as the 
elder son appears to have had no children. 

Chapters V & VI. The Philistines took the ark of the Lord 
from Ebenezer to Ashdod, and set it up by the side of 
Dagon, their favorite idol. The next day Dagon was 
found lying on the ground, having fallen forward upon 
his face. They set him up again, but on the morrow he 
was down as before, with his head and both his hands cut 
off. " Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any that 
come unto Dagon's house tread on the threshold of Dagon 
in Ashdod unto this day." Here is another proof that the 
present record must be far later than the*matters recorded. 
The Philistines being in possession of the ark, were in 
trouble to know what upon earth to do with the elephant 
they had drawn. They could think of nothing else but 
sending it back to G-ath, where the poor people were 
afflicted by emerods (a disease very common in Syria still), 
on account of its presence. It was then taken to Ekron, 
carrying destruction with it, perhaps by the terror it 
excited as before a Deity held in bondage; determining 
them to be rid of it as soon as possible. When it had 
been seven months a prisoner to the Philistines, the princi- 
pal men of Ekron, gathered in council, decided to send 
away the ark, and with it a memorial of the plague they 
had suffered. " Five golden emerods and five golden mice 
were therefore made, a new cart built upon which to place 
the ark, and two cows fastened to it, their calves shut up at 
home. When the ark was placed on its carriage with the 
jewels of gold, it was sent away by the road to Beth- 



FIRST SAMUEL. 235 

Shemesh, now Ainshems, even unto the great stone of 
Abel, which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of 
Joshua." This mysterious visitor still proved troublesome, 
for the Lord smote fifty thousand and ten men of this 
obscure village for merely looking into it! The people's 
joy at their wonderful guest changed to terror, and messen- 
gers were dispatched to Kirjath-jearim saying that the 
Philistines had brought again the ark of the Lord, and 
that they were desired to come and take it home. The 
men of Kirjath-jearim came and brought it into the house 
of Abinidab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazer his son to 
keep it, and it abode there twenty }'ears. 

Chapter VII. The Israelites fought against the Philis- 
tines during a thunder storm, and smote them so they were 
subdued, and all the cities they had taken from the Israel- 
ites were recovered. Peace was also established between 
Israel and the Amorites. 

Chapter VIII. When Samuel became old his sons were 
made judges over Israel; unhappily they walked not in 
his ways, but took bribes and turned away after filthy 
lucre. The people became dissatisfied and clamored for a 
king. Samuel told them plainly that a king would not 
satisfy them, but would make servants of their sons and 
daughters, take their fields and vineyards, seize one-tenth 
of all they had, and oppress them in every possible way. 
No regard was paid to this warning of good old Samuel, 
and the people still clamoring for a king, Samuel felt 
divinely directed to a choice. 

Chapter IX. A man of Benjamin by the name of Kish, 
had a son named Saul; tall, healthy, and good looking. 



236 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Kish had a large number of asses, and they strayed away 
for better water or feed. Thereupon their owner sent this 
son Saul with his hired man to hunt them up. Search in 
different directions gave them no clue to the missing ani- 
mals, and they began to despair. Saul said that his father 
would be more anxious about them than about the asses, 
if they tarried longer. The servant told him that a man 
of God lived in that land (Zuph), who might possibly tell 
them where the asses would be found. Saul objected to 
consulting him, as they could not give him a fee; but the 
servant replied that he had the fourth part of a shekel of 
silver which they could give, small as it was. This man 
of God, it seems, worked for money, and was the same as 
a seer. Walking up to the city they asked for the proph- 
et, and the man of whom they inquired said: "I am he." 
Saul was then told that Samuel had a presentiment of his 
coming and his appearance, with directions from the Lord 
to anoint him captain over his people. As for the asses, 
Samuel told him they were found three days before. Saul, 
somewhat astonished at the words of Samuel, told him he 
was a Benjamite, one of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, 
and his family the least of the families of the tribe. 
Samuel invited him to dine in company with about thirty 
others. After the repast, they went to the house-top, and 
then strolled through the outskirts of the city, the servant 
being in advance of them. 

Chapter X. Samuel took a vial of oil, and pouring it 
upon Saul's head kissed him, and said it was because he 
was " captain over his inheritance." Samuel then un- 
folded the future to Saul, saying he would meet a company 



FIRST SAMUEL. 23? 

of prophets coming down from a high place with a psalter, 
a tabret, a pipe and a harp, and they should prophesy. 
When this shortly after took place, and they played upon 
these instruments, Saul prophesied too; in other words, he 
joined in the music, describing no doubt the future glory 
of Israel. 

Chapter XI. The Ammonites came up and encamped 
against Jabesh Gilead, but offered to make peace on the 
savage condition of each one of the Israelites allowing his 
enemies to thrust out his right eye. Righteously enough, 
Saul and Samuel rallied the people to the number of three 
hundred thousand of Israel, and thirty thousand of the 
men of Judah. Saul and his host fell upon the Ammonites 
early in the morning, and slew them until the heat of the 
day, so that no two of them could be found together. 
After that, as "nothing succeeds like success," Samuel 
and all the people gathered together in Gilgal and made 
Saul king. 

Chapter XII. Saul soon found he had nothing but 
trouble before him. Confusion seemed to reign. Samuel 
told him he had done foolishly, therefore his kingdom 
should not continue. Doing foolishly seems to have been 
the common course with Saul. To make matters still 
worse the Philistines had destroyed all the smiths in the 
land, so that Israel could obtain neither sword nor spear. 

Chapter XIV. Notwithstanding this reported lack they 
did not loose courage. Saul's son Jonathan and his armor- 
bearer went over to the camp of the Philistines, and killed 
twenty men with their own hands in a short time, on the 
space of half an acre of ground. Probably the great 



238 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

earthquake came at the time of Jonathan's attack, terrify- 
ing his enemies from any resistance. The Lord also fought 
for Israel by causing the Philistines to fight each other; 
that is to say, in their panic they fell upon their own host. 
Jonathan took a little honey that he saw upon the ground 
and ate it, contrary to the command of Saul. Pressing on 
after the Philistines, a great slaughter ensued; the hungry 
soldiers also broke ranks and fell upon the spoils, devour- 
ing greedily the sheep and oxen. Saul asked the Lord if 
he should pursue the Philistines, and could get no answer. 
As he expected the Lord to answer when inquiry was made, 
he felt sure something was wrong. Immediate measures 
were taken to ascertain what the trouble was. Soon it 
came out that Jonathan had eaten a little honey, which, 
though not as bad as eating the apple in Eden, was high 
treason. Sentence of death was passed without delay; 
but the people — more sensible than Saul — rescued their 
favorite from the hands of his father. These Philistines 
were a bloodthirsty set, keeping up a continual war with 
Saul all the days of his life. 

Chapter XV. Samuel commanded Saul to " Go and smite 
the Amalekites and utterly destroy all they have; spare 
them not but slay both man and woman, infant and suck- 
ling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." What shall we say to 
such an order as this, corning as it did from a chosen man 
of God ? Saul gathered the people together and numbered 
them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen and ten 
thousand men of Judah, and laid wait with them in a city 
of Amalck. And Saul smote the Amalekites and took 
Agag their king alive, but destroyed all the people. He 



FIRST SAMUEL. 239 

spared Agag and the best of the sheep, oxen and lambs, 
as if to improve his own stock, but the poor and the refuse 
he destroyed. Then Samuel said the Lord regretted that he 
had made Saul king. So Saul sought to find Samuel, and 
came to him at Gilgal. The prophet commanded Saul to 
wait a little that he might get a message from heaven. 
Very soon Samuel told Saul that his orders had been to 
utterly destroy the Amalekites and all their property of 
every kind ; and demanded of him why he had not done so. 
Saul tried to excuse himself for disobedience, and to throw 
the blame upon the people, who had probably urged him to 
do this very thing. Because Saul, after he had obtained a 
signal victory, and when he was extremely weary with 
long fighting, saved the best cattle alive and not the poor- 
est, Samuel told the very man he had praised and anointed, 
that he was deposed from the throne of Israel. And further, 
inasmuch as Saul had done contrary to the orders given 
him, Samuel took poor Agag and hewed him to pieces; 
which by the ordinary estimate of crime was murder, for 
Agag was completely in his power and had done nothing 
to merit an act so inhuman from a man of God. But this 
good man was in a towering passion, and could not con- 
tain himself till he showed Saul that he was king no 
longer, by usurping this power over a captive's life. No 
consultation had been held with the elders in Israel, or 
any of the principal men of the nation. Samuel took it 
upon himself alone to make the declaration. He had acted 
resolutely, but the reader may well ask, What next? It 
was that the Lord directed him to the house of Jesse, 
among whose sons some one would be found fit to reign. 



240 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

After examining these sons carefully, Samuel did not err 
again by choosing the largest, as he did Saul ; the last one 
called was anointed by pouring upon him a horn of oil. 
The record does not say he was anointed king, but simply 
anointed. Following the history of David a little farther, 
we find the following: "But the spirit of the Lord departed 
from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him." 
How can we reconcile the idea that an evil spirit came 
from the Lord, who is all perfection, purity and goodness ? 
Such a thing does not seem possible. Some ma}^ undertake 
to explain this by saying that in that day evil spirits were 
diseases, cramps, fits or pains. So they were; but these 
come directly from irregularities and excesses — from in- 
dulged passions and from poisonous drinks — not directly 
through God's choice for us. Saul could not help being 
tormented by the bitterness of the great prophet, alien- 
ating his people, predicting his overthrow, representing 
him as forsaken of God. Brooding over this growing- 
trouble he evidently became deranged, and deranged 
people are thought to be "possessed" in Syria to-day — 
thought to be so by thousands in our own country, and 
through a greater part of the world. How to lay this 
spirit was the question. Music it was thought might be 
of service. The harp was quite common in Bethlehem, 
and among those skilled in its use was Jesse's son David, 
whose fame must have extended farther than his family 
acquaintance, who looked upon him as a lad of promise. 
The whole tribe of Benjamin had the higmestfame as harp- 
players. Saul by the suggestion of his friends sent a 
messenger to obtain a skillful musician. With but little 



FIRST SAMUEL. 241 

delay David was found, whose ambition kindled at the 
thought of exchanging a sheeps' cote for a palace. A fine, 
ruddy, pleasant, aspiring young man like him naturally 
made a favorable impression on Saul, who asked Jesse to 
let him remain at court, where he contributed much to 
Saul's' comfort, quieting him with his harp, and allaying 
the distress of those dreadful spasms of pain. 

Chapter XVII. In process of time the Philistines who 
had been beaten so many times, but not subdued, gathered 
together an array at Shochoh and Azekah. Saul with the 
men of Israel at first pitched by the valley of Elah, and 
set the battle in array against the Philistines, who occu- 
pied a mountainous region; therefore the Israelites soon 
changed their position to another high hill, and — as a 
matter of course — a valley lay between. "A champion 
named Goliath, six cubits and a span in height, stood forth 
from the Philistine camp, with a helmet of brass on his 
head, and a coat-of-mail about his person weighing five 
thousand shekels of brass, with greaves of brass upon his 
legs and a target of brass between his shoulders; and the 
staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his 
spear's head weighed six hundred shekels; and one bear- 
ing a shield went before him." 

If this account is true, here was the most imposing spec- 
imen of humanity ever seen on the earth. Without know- 
ing exactly what a cubit was, by the measure now used in 
the United States this giant towered up to the height of 
ten feet. The sight of him was calculated to frighten 
most men, especially if his strength was in proportion to 
his armor. But, as was seen in the Spanish Armada, bulk 



242 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

is not everything'; power is often contained in small bodies. 
Agility, strategy, and calculation have much to do with 
success. Goliath made an imposing show, and possibly 
that, was about all there was of it. His heavy spear of 
such crushing weight was a clumsy thing to handle, and 
of but little use for defence. Yet the Philistines were so 
confident that no one could stand against Goliath, they 
offered to let the combat between him and an Israelitish 
champion decide the contest between the two armies. 
And certainly it was not a bad idea; and these were rep- 
resentative men. V. 12. David is here introduced fresh 
from his father's farm in Bethlehem, and not as the one 
anointed a long time before by Samuel, nor as the harp- 
player who had comforted Saul through fierce attacks of 
mental disease, though indeed the same person. Jesse's 
three sons older than David were in Saul's army, and he 
might naturally be expected to know something of the 
family; but a description is given of it again as though 
nothing had been previously said. David, amidst all his 
farm duties, went to visit the army occasionally, leaving 
his sheep to be cared for by some hired servant. Goliath 
in the meantime continued to defy the armies of Israel for 
forty days, so that the matter became notorious all about 
the country, and engaged the attention of David when he 
reached the camp with presents for his brothers — at the 
particular time of day of this huge Philistine's regular 
exhibition. At the bare sight of him the Israelites fled in 
dismay, though he had done nothing to prove his courage 
or his strength. David had evidently an idea that some- 
thing ought to be done at once, and asked what would be 



FIRST SAMUEL. 243 

given the man who should kill the monster. The inquiry 
is often made in cases of plain duty what the reward will 
be for acting. No wonder then that David asked what 
reward he would get for taking away the daily disgrace 
of Israel. Eliab (David's brother), was indignant at the 
presumptuous bearing of the country boy, and told him he 
had better go home and look after the sheeep. This did 
not please David, nor dampen his spirits. Turning to 
some other soldier he asked the same question — what 
would be given to the man that killed the Philistine. At 
this stage of the account, Saul is abruptly introduced in 
his right mind, unaffected by an evil spirit, asking of 
David if he feels able to cope with the Philistine. He re- 
plied by saying that while he tended his father's sheep a 
lion and bear came out and took a lamb of the Hock, and 
that he pursued the lion or bear and slew him — which him 
we are left to conjecture. Without doubting David's cour- 
age, killing a young lion was no great thing to boast of, 
nor any sure indication of his mastering the Philistine. 
David had doubtless formed several theories in regard to the 
course he should pursue. Peculiarly agile as he was, rapid 
movements would give him much advantage in a hand 
to hand conflict. While Goliath would be making ready 
to give a crushing blow, David could get away from its 
force and wound him in some vulnerable place between 
the joints of his armor. An effort was made to fortify 
David with heavy equipments, but they encumbered him 
too much, preventing that free use of his limbs so essen- 
tial to success under the circumstances. While twisting 
and chafing under the heavy weight they wanted him to 



244 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

carry, the success he had had among wild beasts with his 
sling- alone came to mind, and he decided to trust it rather 
than the trappings and weapons he had never proved. 
And it seems that either from his constant practice when 
at home among the sheep, or from expectation of wanting 
them on the journey, suitable stones and his sling were at 
hand. That Goliath was not entirely covered by protect- 
ing armor was plain to all, for he could not see through 
brass or coats of mail. David's after life was such that 
we may be sure he possessed shrewdness and tact in his 
younger days, as well as ambition and abundant courage. 
Something splendid he saw might be gained, and like 
other brave men he took his life in his hand with a plan of 
attack of the simplest kind, to be executed with imple- 
ments no one but himself had thought of before. David 
united a good store of ready wit to that practical good 
sense an essential element of success. Could he plant a 
stone on Goliath's head with such force as to bring him 
down, beheading him with his own sword, it would be a 
magnificent triumph. With bravery none could doubt, 
and all the armor of Saul, David's victory would have 
been less sure than with his sling, a few smooth round 
stones taken from the brook, and his skill in throwing- 
them "to a hair's breadth." The Philistine braggart found 
that David could talk a little large, if he was small. The 
result of this seemingly unequal combat all the Bible read- 
ing world fully understand. It has become indeed a prov- 
erb. David hit Goliath with the first stone he threw, and 
felled him to the earth ; after which taking off his head fol- 
lowed as a matter of course, and thus the conflict ended, 



FIRST SAMUEL. 245 

most unexpectedly to the lookers on. When the Philis- 
tines saw their champion dead they fled in haste, closely 
pursued by the Israelites, who plundered their tents. So 
much was gained by the chivalry of one young man and 
a single act of noble daring. 

Chapter XVII. Immediately after this, Saul is repre- 
sented as inquiring whose son the young man was, the 
conqueror in this memorable duel. Not getting a definite 
answer from those he addressed, the same inquiry was 
made of David himself. But why should he have forgot- 
ten his evil-spirit-layer ? Why should he have failed to 
recognize this peculiarly ruddy youth ? Let that be as it 
may, he told David not to go back to his father any more; 
and Saul's son Jonathan presented him with a sword and 
new uniform. David's warlike propensities showed them- 
selves prominently soon after, when his first battle was 
fought and he returned victorious. It was then that the 
damsels chanted a song, saying, "Saul has slain his thou- 
sands and David his tens of thousands." This naturally 
disturbed a very jealous mind, and the evil spirit returned 
upon the king as it did before. How strange that an evil 
spirit should be sent to afflict this savage sovereign ! Why 
not translate it into modern language and say that Provi- 
dence permitted evil influences to have their natural effect? 
Necessarily, a wide breach was made between Saul and 
David. The most intensely bitter feeling sprang up; 
both were in constant fear. Deadly hatred was mani- 
fested by Saul, who lost no opportunity to put David in 
the most dangerous places, where death seemed inevitable. 
Had David boon slain under such circumstances, or by the 



246 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

hand of some hired assassin, the blackest of crimes would 
have stained the name of Saul. 

Samuel said he selected Saul by express direction from 
the Lord; but who believes it now? When the Lord ac- 
tually directs, the result is good. One is not chosen to 
quarrel with another or to kill him if opportunity offers. 
The sequel of all the movements does not lead to the con- 
clusion that they were particularly directed by any higher 
power than man. Feelings of kindness never moved Saul 
to offer his daughter Merab to David for a wife, as he did 
not love her, but did love another daughter. Still anxious 
for the death of David, he told him if he would do what 
Saul felt certain he could not, he might have the beloved 
Michal — that was to bring him one hundred fore-skins of 
the Philistines. David soon brought them, and received 
no harm. David's popularity increased daily, and with it 
Saul's anxiety for his destruction; so that he even ordered 
his servants to kill him. That Saul had an evil spirit 
about him continually can not be doubted, though there are 
very grave doubts if it came from the Lord. This evil spirit 
was upon him when he threw a javelin at David, who for- 
tunately escaped the blow. Michal was always true to 
David, and on several occasions saved him from harm — 
once in particular by lowering him in a basket from an 
upper window. Jonathan was many times able also to 
aid David, as he did when Saul found David's place vacant 
at the feast, and called on Jonathan to explain why it was 
so; and because he did not, accused him of being the son 
of a perverse woman; and told him he would never have 
the kingdom, and that David should die; part of which 



FIRST SAMUEL. 24 T 

was true as he said it. After this follows a long and mi- 
nute account of the deceptions practiced by David, Jona- 
than, and others to save the life of David; all of which 
must be excused on the ground that he had a great mis- 
sion to fulfill, and was the chosen of God to accomplish 
certain things of moment to the world. Life was precious 
to him, and the ability he displayed in protecting it was 
not small, nor free from gross fraud. All the chances were 
calculated shrewdly, otherwise he would have lost his life. 

Chapter XXI. David went to Abimelech, at a place 
called Nob, and Abimelech gave him and his company the 
sanctified bread to eat, and also the sword with which he 
had beheaded Goliath. Then he fled on to Achish, king of 
Gath, where he feigned himself mad, by frothing at the 
mouth and by other strange conduct, so that Achish was 
anxious to be rid of him. 

Chapter XXII. His next resort was to a cave at Adul- 
lam, where he drew together outlaws like himself, and 
undertook to exercise the functions of a ruler by releasing 
those who were in debt, and relieving those who were 
oppressed. From thence he went to Mizpeh of Moab. 
Being warned by a prophet to depart, he fled to the forest 
of Hareth in Judah. An Edomite named Doeg betrayed 
to Saul what Abimelech had done for David. The kind- 
hearted priest was therefore told that he should surely die 
and all his connections with him The command to "turn 
and slay the priests of the Lord," Saul's servants hesitated 
to execute; so the king commanded the Edomite, who had 
no scruples, to " turn and fall upon the priests;" and he 
slew that day four score and five persons that wore a linen 



248 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

ephod ; and Nob the city of the priests smote he with the 
edge of the sword, both men, women and children, suck- 
lings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of 
the sword." A terrible retribution for hospitality to a fugi- 
tive. And all because an old priest gave David a little 
bread and the sword used to cut off the head of Goliath. 
Not only the priests of the Lord, but all their friends and 
connections, all their sheep and cattle suffered. Abiathar 
told David what had been done, and said that the life of 
both of them was in danger from Saul. 

Chapter XXIII. The Philistines went against Keilah 
and committed robberies. After inquiring of the Lord, 
David fought them, took away all their cattle, routed their 
forces, killed many of them, and saved the inhabitants of 
Keilah. Saul had slain Abimelech, but his son Abiathar 
fled to David at Keilah with an ephod in his hand. Saul 
expected confidently to take David there, but he escaped 
with six hundred men, and dwelt in the strongholds at 
Engedi. 

Chapter XXIV. For a long time Saul sought by every 
means to take David, who showed supreme talent in esca- 
ping his grasp. To relate every circumstance about these 
fearful perils would be going into wearisome particulars. 
During these movements and counter-movements, while the 
Lord seemed to be aiding David, the injured betrayed no 
desire to turn upon his injurer. When the Ziphites offered 
to deliver David up to be slain, Saul said: "Blessed be ye 
of the Lord." Such feelings could only come from the 
evil spirit that long possessed him. When at last Saul 
heard his foe lay hid in the wilderness of Engedi, he 



FIRST SAMUEL. 249 

selected three thousand of his most valiant men to bring 
him in alive or dead. In the meantime Saul fell in David's 
way at the entrance of a cave, when his life might easily 
have been taken, but, David felt that divinity which hedges 
in a king, and that he must protect the monarch from 
outrage for his own future peace upon the throne. David 
seized the occasion to tell Saul plainly how foolishly and 
wickedly he had conducted, and explained the absurdity of 
such a course. Saul was fully convinced that all was true 
which David had spoken, and had the fairness to own it, 
saying he was sure that the kingdom of Israel would be 
established in David's hand, and asked him to swear that 
he would not cut off the name or seed of Saul from the 
kingdom. 

Chapter XXV. Samuel died, and all Israel gathered 
together in lamentation, and buried him in the house of 
Ramah. David went down to the wilderness of Paran, 
where he found a man of wealth named Nabal. It was the 
season of sheep-shearing. David spoke kindly to Nabal 
and his people, who inquired particularly about David's 
history — in regard to his being the son of Jesse or some 
runaway from his master. David's young men reported 
back to him what was said, and evidently in a rage he 
commanded every man to gird on his sword for battle. 
The whole number of them was four hundred, half of 
whom abode by the stuff. Beautiful Abigail, the wife of 
Nabal, was told by her servants that Nabal had abused 
David, and that a storm was about to break on their 
master. Abigail, like other women, was prompt to act in 
such an emergency; so with a peace-offering of two hundred 



250 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

loaves of bread, two bottles of wine, five sheep ready- 
dressed, parched corn, raisins, cakes and figs, she started 
leading the way herself, without the knowledge of her 
husband. As she drew near the camp of David the men 
came out to meet her. The condition of affairs was quickly 
explained by David, who told her that of all Nabal pos- 
sessed nothing would be left to him at the morning light. 
She acknowledged at once that her husband was the 
meanest of men, and really a son of the devil. The pres- 
ents were mentioned, on which account David said he would 
spare her; and she seemed immediately to have lost all 
anxiety about her brute of a husband. David told her to 
go back, took her hand, and gave a promise that no harm 
should come to her. On her arrival she found Nabal was 
holding a feast and much intoxicated. About ten days 
after the Lord smote Nabal and he died; or rather the 
effects of that debauch and previous indulgences caused 
his death. Soon after that — as the reader has already 
anticipated — David took Abigail for a wife; and, unlike 
modern husbands, not being satisfied with her, he also took 
Ahinoam of Jezreel. Some time before that, Saul had 
taken from David his first wife, Michal, and given her 
another husband, obscure as her first was to be renowned. 
Chapter XXVI. Saul heard that David was in the wil- 
derness of Ziph, and moved forward with three thousand 
chosen men to seize him. Hearing of Saul's arrival, David 
sent out spies, and with a few of his chosen men came 
upon Saul by night as he lay unguarded in his tent. He 
was completely at their mercy; but David would not smite 
him, nor allow his men to do it. Taking away only his 



FIRST SAMUEL. 251 

spear and cruse of water, David retired without awakening 
him. David went to the top of a hill at some distance, 
and proclaimed all that had happened, at the same time 
exhibiting the king's spear and cruse. Saul, knowing 
David's voice, saluted him as son. Then a long conver- 
sation ensued, at the end of which Saul blessed his son 
David, and told him he would be a great man. 

Chapter XXVII. Notwithstanding this friendly inter- 
view, David was impressed with the idea that he would 
some day fall a victim to Saul's unrelenting hate. So he 
decided to go into the land of the Philistines with his two 
wives. When Saul was told of David's flight to Gath, he 
went no more after him. Achish gave him Ziklag at once, 
as Chiselhurst sheltered Napoleon III, and there he abode 
a year and four months. His warlike disposition would 
not allow of his being long idle; so he invaded some of 
the old worn-out clans of Canaan, smiting them down as 
usual, so that none were left alive, neither man, woman or 
child, to tell the story. Not a soul of all that David went 
against escaped to charge him with their destruction. 

Achish considered David a cruel warrior, and thought his 
own people could but abhor him; but gradually he became 
fond of him, making him captain of his life-guard or keeper 
of his head. 

After Samuel's death Saul put away those that had 
familiar spirits out of the land. The Philistines armed 
against him in formidable numbers, and when he saw 
them fear came upon him, especially as he could get no 
answer from the Lord; neither by dreams, by the (Trim nor 
the prophets. And Saul said to his servant: "Seek me a 



252 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor." And, having 
disguised himself, Saul went to this sorceress by night, 
and told her to divine unto him by the familiar spirit, and 
bring up from the grave him whom he would name. The 
witch pretended not to know who it was that stood before 
her; and said to him that Saul had cut off such as had 
familiar spirits, and the wizard out of the land. She 
would be ruined therefore by identifying herself with such 
an outlawed set. Saul solemnly swore that her life should 
be perfectly safe; betraying, if his unparalleled height had 
not already done, who her midnight visitor was. Nothing 
is said about the use of magical instruments, signs or 
manipulations, and there might not have been any. Saul 
had stated his desire to have some one raised, without 
being explicit as to the person. Both Saul and the woman 
had doubts about the appearance before them of one who 
had been dead for years; hence they were frightened when 
she said that she saw gods ascending out of the earth. 
Saul wished to know what form he was of. The woman 
had used the plural " gods " in the Hebrew way as express- 
ing dignity. Looking again, the witch said: "An old man 
cometh up covered with a mantle." Saul declared it was 
Samuel, and bowed himself to the earth. Then, the con- 
versation is given between the live man and the one that 
had been dead and buried three or four years. Not every 
witch in that age was able to raise the dead and besides 
make them speak in audible ivords. We should naturally 
conclude that this must be the most difficult part of the 
job; that therefore this woman had distinguished ability — 
especially if she did what she thought beyond her own 



FIRST SAMUEL. 253 

powers. Perhaps, she only pretended to be surprised when 
from the trap-hole in her floor a figure seemed to arise 
which she cunningly pronounced to be dressed like Samuel, 
whom she knew Saul would desire to see more than any 
other being that had ever lived. The dialogue between 
Saul and the phantom represented by an old man leaning 
on a staff, was very easily managed. Samuel naturally 
enough complained of being disturbed, as if he had been 
taking a night's rest. Saul apologizes by his agony of 
soul for want of advice about the coming battle. Samuel 
tells him — what any child could have done — that he was 
certain to be beaten; that Israel would be delivered into 
the Philistines' hands; that his kingdom would be given 
to his far worthier rival; and (which was not wholly true) 
that all his sons would be slain. On hearing echoed from 
the other world, as the superstitious king believed, what 
his own heart had prophesied, he naturally swooned away; 
and when he recovered refused for a time to take any food, 
though he had been fasting for some time. After the 
spectral vision had vanished, the woman showed great 
kindness to the soul she was helping to crush; she urged 
him to take food, which he declined until overcome by her 
entreaties and those of his attending servants. This witch 
was not as destitute as some who practice fortune- telling; 
but, like well-to-do people of that time, had on hand a 
fatted calf which she hastened to kill and with the meat 
prepare a sumptuous meal for Saul, of which he and his 
servants partook. This appears to have been his last 
regular repast, What faith would be put in a story of 
this kind — if* related in just the same style — as occurring 



254 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

now ? Not one in a thousand of those who say every word 
in the Bible is literally true, would give it any credence. 

Chapter XXIX. The Philistines in the meantime had 
gathered their armies together at Aphek, and the Israelites 
at Jezreel. David, it will be remembered, was sojourning 
among- the Philistines; but they refused to let him join 
them to fight against the Israelites, though no fault was 
found in him. King Achish himself was willing, but the 
lords of the Philistines rightfully enough objected in the 
strongest terms. So the king advised David to depart 
early in the morning, and he did as directed. 

Chapter XXX. On the third day, at Ziklag, David ascer- 
tained that the Amalekites had captured the place, burnt 
it with fire, smitten all the people except the women, who 
were carried away captive. David looked matters over 
carefully, consulted with Abiathar the priest, who used his 
ephod to inquire of the Lord whether these freebooters 
should be pursued. The answer came quickly to push on 
after them and recover all that had been lost. David only 
took six hundred men for the chase, and at the brook Besor 
left two hundred of these who were too faint for so rapid 
a march. An Egyptian approached his camp, who was 
suffering with hunger, having fasted for three days. When 
his strength came again with the supply of food, David 
inquired where he dwelt. The reply was in Egypt; but 
that he had been with a company of men who had taken 
and burned Ziklag with fire. David wished to know if he 
could take him to that company — for he knew at once that 
they were Amalekites — in which case he promised no harm 
should come to the Egyptian at the hands of his late 



FIRST SAMUEL. 255 

master, who was evidently one of the robbers. Soon 
the victorious host who had plundered and burned Zik- 
lag were found having a feast of good things; eating, 
drinking, dancing and rejoicing over the spoils they had 
taken. David recovered to the full all that had been 
carried away; rescued his two wives; so that nothing 
was lacking of either small or great, sons or daughters, 
flocks or herds. Returning to the two hnndred men left 
at the brook Besor, a dispute arose about the recovered 
spoils. Some of David's men, designated as the sons of 
Belial, contended that those who went not after the Amal- 
ekites but remained at the brook should have no portion 
of the plunder. David decided that all should share alike, 
whether they remained by the stuff or joined in the pur- 
suit. Here again we find another of the many evidences 
that the Old Testament was re-written, enlarged, altered 
and compiled long after the events of which it treats: 
" And it was so from that day forward that he made it a 
statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day." — v. 25. 
On his return to Ziklag, David sent many presents to his 
friends from the spoils he had taken. 

Chapter XXXI. In the meantime the fight was going 
on between Israel and the Philistines, who pressed hard 
upon Saul and his sons. Jonathan, Abinadab and Melchi- 
shua fell early in the engagement; for the battle was ex- 
ceedingly fierce, and the archers sorely wounded Saul. 
He therefore desired his armor-bearer to thrust him through, 
for fear that some uncircumcised person would come and 
abuse him. His armor-bearer refused; and Saul in his 
agony fell upon his own sword and soon expired. Seeing 



256 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

this, his armor-bearer followed his example; dying by his 
own hand. Thus Saul, his three sons, and his armor- 
bearer, all died the same day. When the men of Israel 
on the other side of the valley and beyond the Jordan saw 
that the army was routed, and Saul and his sons slain, 
they forsook the places they occupied and fled, and the 
Philistines Came and dwelt in them. The day after, when 
the Philistines came to strip the slain according custom, 
they found Saul and his three sons among them, on Mount 
Gilboa. They cut off Saul's head and took his armor to 
be exhibited as a trophy in the house of Ashtaroth; his 
body they fastened to the town wall. The people of 
Jabesh-gilead (hearing of this), traveled all night; took 
the body of Saul and his sons from the walls of Beth- 
shan, and came to Jabesh and burnt them there. This 
cremation must have been imperfect; for the bones were 
buried under a tree at Jabesh, where they fasted seven 
days. 



SECOND SAMUEL. 25? 



CHAPTER XV. 

SECOND SAMUEL. 

THE period covered by the second book of Samuel is 
about forty years, from 1056 B. C. to 1016. 
It will be remembered that before the death of Saul, 
David took up his residence in a Philistine city called 
Ziklag. This inconsiderable place had been assailed by a 
band of desperadoes, a portion of it burnt and the spoils 
recovered but a few days, when David was visited by an 
Amalekite, who said he came from the late camp of Saul, 
and undertook to tell David particularly about the battle 
that had proved so disastrous. However plausibly the 
story was told it did not agree with what David had 
already learnt; for this Amalekite pretended to have given 
the finishing blow to the conquered king, perhaps in ex- 
pectation of some handsome reward. David, to show how 
little he was disposed to gloat over the death of the man 
who had for a long time hunted after his life, and how 
sacred a sovereign's person should be, ordered the Amale- 
kite to be immediately executed. An elegy was delivered 
in which the strongest terms were used to express the 
great service Saul had done to the nation, and the estima- 
tion in which he was held by the people. The women es- 



258 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

pecially were called to witness how generous and kind he 
had been. 

Thus ends the history of the first one anointed by 
Samuel as the vicegerent of Jehovah, and as in modern 
phrase the right man in the right place. But the way he 
conducted himself proved that the choice was an utter 
mistake, unless he was intended to serve as a foil to his 
successor. Praise bestowed on the dead is often mere talk 
with the smallest possible regard to facts. David honored 
himself by saying what he did about his father-in-law; and 
furnished another instance of high-toned feelings by men- 
tioning all his good acts, and carefully omitting all the 
bad ones; nor were Jonathan's noble services forgotten by 
the royal eulogist. The love and affection between him 
and David did honor to the kind-heartedness and amiabil- 
ity of both. 

Chapter II. David, with his three wives, by the Lord's 
command went to Hebron, and was fully established in that 
renowned city of Judah. He sought and found the men of 
Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul, gave them many thanks for 
their kindness with a blessing, and closed his remarks by 
announcing that he was anointed king. Taking the Bible 
as it reads, it would seem that Ishbosheth was made king 
over Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, and what was 
then called Israel, as far as Abner (the captain of Saul's 
host) could do it by mere word of mouth. David, how- 
ever, was made king of Judah in less than a year after 
Saul's death, and reigned for about seven and a half 
years. If therefore Ishbosheth was not made king over 
the other portion of the Israelites till five years after, it 



SECOND SAMUEL. 259 

follows that a large portion of the people remained with- 
out any regular ruler. Such may have been the case, and 
hence the civil strife that convulsed the nation. This 
anarchy continued with little interruption for the whole 
seven years and a half, or up to the time that David was 
anointed king over Israel, B. C. 1049. David was not the 
legitimate heir to the throne, but as all know a usurper; 
and this was one reason why so many w r aited for the 
course of events to justify David's right to the throne. 
But time, with the most convincing of all arguments, 
settled every thing — by the sword more than all else 
David vindicated his right to the throne. Fighting consti- 
tuted his great business for many years. Whether right 
or wrong, superior force leads to conquest, and laws made 
by the conquerors have been obeyed. Through all these 
wars, in all the battles, David waxed stronger and stronger, 
and the old house of Saul weaker and weaker. Abner ulti- 
mately came out for David, especially when Ishbosheth 
wanted his father's concubines. That he thought was 
asking too much. The contest between Ishbosheth and 
David continued until the pretender having been slain in 
his bed, his rival was anointed king over both Israel and 
Judah. That was his third anointing; the first while with 
his father in Bethlehem; the second as king of Judah 
alone. 1049 B. C. David's full reign began, and, singular 
enough was inaugurated by an order to slay all the blind 
and lame of the Jebusites. The hill of Zion, about which 
so much is said in prose and song, David held as a fortified 
camp. The influence and renown of this wonderful man 
increased rapidly, and the record says " the Lord God of 



260 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Hosts was with him." This term at that time meant a 
special influence or directing- power that favored Israel. 
Soon after he ascended the throne, the Philistines came 
against him and were defeated. David's growing popular- 
ity and high position demanded the construction of a suit- 
able palace; in the erection of which he took the same 
personal interest as is taken by all oriental monarchs 
to-day. 

But yet, amidst all the hurry and bustle of building 
houses, and getting wives and concubines for David, the 
ark was not forgotten ; nor did other cares prevent the 
bringing of this palladium of their liberties to Jerusa- 
lem, already a rapidly increasing city, fast becoming the 
grand center of all Israel. In order to bring the ark with 
becoming dignity, they constructed a new cart upon 
which to place it for removal. Delays took place as a 
matter of course; but, in due time the ark was put in 
its place, offerings made to the Lord after the manner 
of that day, and every one of the people received a loaf 
of bread — emblem of the bread from heaven — as well 
as a flagon of wine. The wife of David — if any one in 
particular was entitled to the name — complained of the 
vulgar show the king had made by dancing before the ark 
naked, " shamelessly," as she said. So far from being 
daunted by the reproof, David assured her he should be 
''still more vile;" and then sent her away from his house, 
an exile from his heart. This conduct of Saul's daughter 
was another token of the want of reverence distinguishing 
her father's house. 

Although the ark was put in what was then called its 



SECOND SAMUEL. 261 

place, it was not a worthy shrine for a great nation's 
worship. Feeling this want, Nathan and David agreed 
that a temple ought to be erected and dedicated to the 
Lord, in which not only solemn worship could be main- 
tained, but where the ark might be safely kept. During 
the years of journeying from Egypt, and the incessant 
wars the Israelites waged with all who interrupted their 
progress, they could not be expected to erect any thing 
like temples. Moses therefore realized the necessity of 
adapting the tabernacle to their migratory habits, making 
it nothing but a magnificent tent. Having become fully 
organized with a king, superior in most respects to any 
other of that day, their condition was changed. Every 
god of wood and stone had his temple; why then should 
Jehovah be destitute ? and, as their God was superior to 
the heathen gods, why should not a temple of correspond- 
ing grandeur be erected for Him ? Nathan assured David 
the Lord would establish his kingdom forever and ever. 

The Philistines were the most troublesome enemies they 
had; next to them in importance came the Ammonites. 
David by his skill and prowess made both of these na- 
tions, if not submissive, quiet and respectful. He was a 
real king; not a shadow without substance like the paste- 
board monarch of the stage. At length came a period of 
great prosperity, which brought naturally enough habits of 
ease and luxury, leading to debauchery with a long train 
of excesses. The change from constant war for several 
hundred years to a condition of quiet, was too great for 
them to bear without demoralization. This showed itself 
first in the head of the nation, in his double crime with 



262 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Uriah's wife, B. C. 1035. By chance or design lie saw 
Bathsheba bathing in a nude state, which greatly increased 
his passions, for her form was splendid. Now what should 
we expect that this man "after God's own heart" would 
do ? control his passion and curb his appetite, or give a 
loose rein to both ? The melancholy sequel shows which 
course he took. She was led an unwilling captive into 
the palace. How long expostulations lasted or what re- 
sistance was made no one can tell. Such circumstances 
seldom become a matter of record. That she yielded we 
know full well. This was not all David did. Telling one 
lie makes room for another, so one wicked act leads to the 
commission of more. He had taken the lawful wife of 
Uriah to his bosom, hence her husband who loved her de- 
votedly must be some way removed. That was the safe 
course to pursue then as now, and David took it. But he 
did not escape condemnation. The shrewdness and tact 
by which David was made to judge himself, by Nathan 
the prophet, has been often quoted and admired. When 
David declared " that the rich man who had stolen a 
lamb from the poor man's flock shall surely die," Nathan 
said with great emphasis: " Thou art the man V But Uriah 
was already dead. His wife mourned him deeply, for her 
love was strong and pure. In process of time Solomon 
was born to David of Bathsheba. David suffered every 
way for his sin. The licentious propensities of the father 
soon began to exhibit themselves in his children; and 
Amnon committed the abominable crime of ruining his 
own sister, Tamar. Few prominent men previously had 
done anything so base and mean. David, when he saw a 



SECOND SAMUEL. 263 

lady suited to his fancy, managed to get her. His three 
wives were each obtained in a singular way. The first 
one, daughter of Saul, was bought by a certain portion of 
the body taken from one hundred Philistines. Nabal and 
all his servants were slaughtered to get another, and 
Uriah's life was taken for the third. This was an extraor- 
dinary method of wooing. The crime of Amnon opened 
the way for some other iniquity, and Absalom murdered 
his own brother in revenge. David began to fear trouble 
would be upon him the rest of his days, and at first 
refused to forgive Absalom. To recover favor, a story 
was invented by him after the manner of that time, and 
told for truth. Such stories surely ought not to be taken 
as the word of God coming to us by inspiration. They 
were invented for the occasion, and should be treated as 
mere fiction. Absalom was not punished for committing 
this unnatural murder, though just as guilty as Cain, and 
unquestionably condemned by the laws of Moses. Ara- 
non's sin gave no authority for another if possible more 
glaring, deliberate, and outrageous. Forgiveness is com- 
mendable, but in this case, as in many others, was poorly 
requited by Absalom, who soon after undertook to act the 
part of a usurper and wrest the scepter from his father's 
hand. Not satisfied with all his wantonness hitherto, a 
most obscene exhihition was made to the public by the ap- 
propriation of ten of his father's concubines in open day at 
Jerusalem. Such condud as David and the people wit- 
nessed daily in Absalom troubled the king; who, though 
the bravest of the brave, trembled a! the thought of a 
struggle for life with his own son. David's immediate 



264 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

advisers gathered about him for consultation, and warned 
him not to go into the battle as he desired, and he yielded 
to their remonstrances. That providence, which controls 
events that man cannot foresee, could not take sides with 
the heartless son. One who had done so wickedly had no 
claim for the continuance of a life of sin, and the only way 
to arrest his treason was to terminate his life. Absalom 
went into the battle full of hope. His unusually long hair 
in riding under a tree became entangled in the branches, 
and there he remained suspended between earth and 
heaven, until the brutal Joab took his life, in violation of 
the father's command. David was among the last to har- 
bor malice against a dead enemy. Ten men who con- 
stituted the body-guard of Joab, assisted in this brutal 
murder. 

The Old Testament as a history holds a high rank 
among other works. Its thoroughness, and above all 
things, its perfect impartiality, give evidence of its gen- 
eral truth. Nothing seems to be designedly left out. 
Those who do bad acts in an hour of temptation are not 
spared. The whole truth is told. Good men are not 
always perfect. To be good in a human sense is only to 
do our best as frail beings, tempted continually without 
and within. This is shown in all the annals of the Jews 
and their ancestors back to Noah, and even to the family 
of Adam. 

Chapter XXI. Various particulars are given about 
another giant, who defied the armies of Israel as Goliath 
had before done, and was slain by a very small man. 

Chapter XXII gives a triumphant song sung by David 



SECOND SAMUEL. 265 

after all conspirators were defeated, remarkable for its 
boastful spirit. From its tone one might infer that the 
Lord's whole attention was showered on David's head, 
with no regard for any one else, and that the Lord deliv- 
ered him out of trouble on account of his peculiar merit. 
This is human nature still; many persons imagine they 
are ill treated by every special calamity which falls to their 
lot; and that if any person obstructs their path he 
deserves to be severely punished, if not slain. Charity 
would cure such self-preference — would convince a man 
that others have claims on providence as well as himself— 
and that the universal Father is not partial but will re- 
ward every man according to his deserts. 

One very difficult and saddening tragedy has been 
passed over. It is the deliberate murder of seven sons of 
Saul as an atonement for Saul's slaying the Gibeonites, 
which appears to be sanctioned in the Record, was ordered 
by David, and not condemned by either God or Nathan. 
It would be hard to find anything in history more brutal, 
as this occurred years after the wrong had been committed, 
as these last remnants of an unfortunate family had had no 
share in their father's crime, and as the law of Moses ex- 
pressly condemned the son's suffering for his parent's 
crime. 

The picture of one of the desolated mothers spreading 
her sack-cloth on the rooky height of Gibeah, and watch- 
ing day and night around her crucified children to drive 
away the vulture and the jackal till the human fiends 
could endure this mute appeal to heaven no more, is not 
surpassed by the classic story of Niobe's mourning over 



266 



SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 



her beautiful daughters. Can any mother's heart feel 
that Deity sanctioned this horror ? 

This second book of Samuel closes by an account of the 
sin committed by David in numbering the people. They 
imagined this to be a grievous sin at the time; few think 
it so now. The only possible construction which could 
make the taking of a national census a crime, is its in- 
flaming an ambitious ruler to aggressive war. 

Chapter XXIV. Joab gave the number of valiant sol- 
diers at eight hundred thousand; which would lead us to 
think the whole population not far from three million. 

In the first verse of the preceding chapter, we read: 
" These are the last words of David the son of Jesse," etc., 
" the spirit of the Lord spake by me and his word was in 
my tongue." If really spoken by David of himself they 
are singularly arrogant, as a claim of infallible inspira- 
tion. May not something be learned from the modes of 
speech now in use in oriental nations ? Sir Samuel Baker 
says the Arabs now speak of a famine in a very similar 
way: "The Lord called for a famine and it came;" and of 
a dream that " God appeared to him in a dream and said" — . 
With the Bible in his hands, and these unchanged tribes be- 
fore his eyes, this distinguished traveler declares that the 
veil of three thousand years is raised and that the living 
picture is a witness to the exactness of the historical de- 
scriptions. So that the claim for David in this striking 
passage would amount to his own consciousness being im- 
pressed with the feeling of uttering God's truth, or de- 
claring God's will. And we cannot doubt for a moment 
that God still continues to make humanity his oracle, still 



SECOND SAMUEL. 26? 

quickens willing consciences, still possesses childlike hearts 
with the spirit of purity, of truth, and of love. 



SCRIPTURE SPECULA TIONS. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

FIRST KINGS. 

WITH the beginning of this book commences a period 
of over six centuries, ending with Jewish biblical 
history about four hundred years before the birth of Jesus. 
The ten tribes revolted B. C. 9t6, and took Jeroboam for 
their king, and were known as Israel, Ephraim or Samaria; 
while to Judah or Jerusalem clung the Levites and Benja- 
mites. A separate existence was maintained by the ten 
tribes until 721 B. C, when they were carried into captivity 
by the Assyrians, whose capital was Nineveh. Judah 
withstood this powerful nation for one hundred and fifteen 
years, and the captivity of the whole began 606 B. C; from 
which time we reckon to make the seventy years spoken 
of as the term of bondage. Looking back from the begin- 
ning of Solomon's reign, we find that though the service of 
the sanctuary had varied at different times in trifles, all its 
main features had been preserved. Corruptions occasion- 
ally crept in, especially during the desultory administration 
of the judges; and as a natural result of these irregula- 
rities the sanctuary became neglected. Worship was con- 
tinued in Shiloh, though Eli's family abused their office so 
as to justify the famous words of Milton: 

"When the priests 
Turn atheist, as did Eli's sons who filled 
With lust and violence the house of God." 



FIRST KINGS. 269 

The general service of the sanctuary fell into great dis- 
repute, and lost entirely its controlling influence over the 
people. The ceremonies enjoined by the law of Moses 
were greatly neglected. Not only was there manifest need 
of a general revival of religion, but there was a still deeper 
want of a central temple to which they could look with an 
eye of faith; to which their thoughts would turn with 
proud reverence; where many generations would gather 
in acceptable homage and all the earth might offer praise. 
To the sweet Psalmist of Israel is due the credit of deter- 
mining upon a work so noble in itself, so memorable in its 
results. Many faults the world has detected in that warrior 
king; and yet, poor as his training had been, his reign was 
a far greater success than that of his wise son, though 
both won the favor of their people — both advanced that 
people in civilization, wealth, power and fame. 

The first book of Kings relates to a term of about one 
hundred and nineteen years — from 1016 to 891" B. C. The 
two books of Kings cover a period of about four hundred 
and twenty-eight years, up to 588 B. C, with the civil and 
religious history of the nation from the death of David to 
the burning of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar. The author- 
ship of these books is not certainly known, but is believed 
to have been rather an editorship by the prophet Jeremiah, 
from a variety of narratives held in estimation at the time. 
Chronicles were; written especially for the Jews after the 
Babylonish captivity; and both K ings and Chronicles are in 
a great part drawn from previous records; hence the con- 
stant repetition. Had the authors of these old and highly 
valued writings been alive when they were revised, their 



270 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

services would have been invaluable in harmonizing- the 
statements. But that was not to be; hence we have the 
books with their manifold imperfections. 

The eleven opening chapters of Kings give a history of 
Solomon's reign; the next eleven chapters a history of the 
divided kingdom of Israel from the time of its separation 
into the ten tribes of Israel proper, and Judah. 

About the time the second book of Kings closed, there 
were four classes of Jews in Babylon, as follows: The 
Assyrian captives who had found their way from Nineveh 
to Babylon; those taken in the first attack on Jerusalem, 
among whom were Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed- 
nego; those taken in the second attack, including- Ezekiel 
and other leaders of Israel; and those taken in the victory 
over Zedekiah, king of Judah. In the return of all these 
different classes, their descendants became united in a 
single body. Cyrus, king of Persia, conducted himself 
nobly toward the Jews who desired to return to Jerusalem, 
giving them entire liberty and every facility in his power. 

With all David's amiable qualities, he led rather a dis- 
solute life, which impaired his health, undermined his con- 
stitution, lessened his public influence, and brought on 
premature decay. His intimate friends became anxious 
on account of his failing health; various plans were started 
to relieve his system from the chilliness of a bad circula- 
tion; amongst others that of a young person sharing the 
royal bed; still the decline went on so rapidly that the 
subject of a successor became the engrossing topic at court. 
Adonijah, the son of Haggith, had a legitimate right to 
succeed his father as the oldest son; but Bathsheba re- 



FIRST KINGS. 2U 

minded David of his promise that her son Solomon was to 
rule after him. Like others of her sex she was not wanting 
in electioneering capacity. To arouse the king, and show 
the necessity of immediate action, he was told that Adon- 
ijah had commenced his reign by the slaughter of fat 
cattle and by making a great stir among the people. 
Zadock the priest, and Nathan the prophet both declared 
for Solomon, and desired to anoint him king. David had a 
favorite mule to be used only on occasions of state, and 
upon him they placed Solomon and journeyed to Gihon, 
where Zadock consecrated him with oil. When this was 
told to Adonijah he drank the health of Solomon, and hoped 
he would do better than his father; a suggestion at least 
that he deemed his father a poor ruler. All Adonijah's 
expressions are frank and friendly to Solomon; so that 
with David's blessing and detailed good advice, every thing 
seemed to presage a favorable reign for the boy king. 
The last hours of David were spent in conversation about 
foes no less than friends. Nor did he omit to speak of 
himself — to name the good deeds he had done, and to say 
that the Lord was satisfied with him. Though about to 
die, feelings of revenge still worked in the old warrior's 
breast. By his especial direction the lives of both Joab 
and Shimei were to be taken upon the first convenient 
occasion. He had reigned seven years in Hebron and 
thirty-three in Jerusalem. Although Adonijah claimed the 
kingly office, his submission was prompt, and his petition 
only that his life might be spared, which he saw to be in no 
little danger, as Solomon suspected him. Let us see how 
slight a thing induced the young despot to order his rival's 



272 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

execution: It was simply Adonijah's asking Solomon's 
mother to intercede that he might be allowed Ahishag for 
a wife. In return for his thus stealing towards the 
throne, an executioner named Benaiah was sent to murder 
him without his being heard in self defence. Abiathar, 
for telling Solomon to flee away on account of this 
murder, was deposed from the priesthood. The execution 
of Joab soon followed by the hand of Benaiah. For this 
promptness in taking the lives of the most dangerous in the 
kingdom, Benaiah was rewarded with the appointment of 
general-in-chief of the king's forces, and Zadock with the 
high priesthood. Such the introduction of that man's reign 
about whose wisdom the world has heard so much. After 
these acts so characteristic of an oriental despotism, there 
seemed to be no other life which threatened the peace or 
permanency of his reign, and the thirst for glory gradually 
sprang up in the king's bosom. The king of Egypt had a 
daughter; to seek and obtain her hand was such a dis- 
tinction as no Jewish ruler had aspired after before. 

Chapter III. It is said Solomon loved the Lord and kept 
His statutes. If love of the Lord leads men to take the 
lives of those who stand in their way, it is a singular kind 
of love. 

The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and inquired 
what he would ask; the reply was: "Give me wisdom." 
This, he truly said, was above all other things in value. 
Such a dream is certainly of the best kind. Better would 
it be if more had the same dream with the same result. 
The first judicial act of his was thought to show wisdom, 
tho igh it is hard to discover any thing profound about it. 



FIRST KINGS. 2?3 

Two mothers pressed their claims for the same infant. 
Solomon touched the real parent's heart by ordering the 
child to be divided in two, and half to be given to each. 
This despotic and inhuman sentence prompted the real 
mother to cry out for the child's life by desiring the babe 
to be given to the other woman, rather than be slain. 
Solomon detected the true parent by this outcry of nature, 
and gave her the child. And we read: "All Israel saw 
that the wisdom of God was with him." 

Chapter fourth gives us the daily supplies of Solomon's 
table, and they imply continual feasting: Three score 
measures of meal, ten fatted and twenty grass-fed oxen, 
one hundred sheep, besides harts, roebucks, fallow deer 
and fatted fowls. It was evidently such a time of luxury 
as never had been before — never would be again. Not 
only were they at peace with all other nations, but the 
king's marriages had made friends of many other kingdoms ; 
and his world-wide reputation for wisdom drew from afar 
persons like the queen of Sheba, who could not come 
without a vast retinue. This is necessary to the dignity 
of oriental rulers to-day. William Smith's Bible Diction- 
ary maintains that the number of chariots and horsemen 
which formed the king's body-guard are exaggerated ten- 
fold. Perhaps these twelve thousand horsemen formed a 
military police to prevent disorders in Jerusalem, maintain 
the state of a grand sovereign, and execute his orders 
throughout the newly-extended kingdom. As these records 
of the grandest reign Israel ever knew were made in the 
period of distress, confusion and fear which followed, it is 
not strange that their statements are made so strong; and 



274 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

yet the whole Orient is filled with legends which throw 
these statements entirely into the shade. The scriptures 
state that Solomon knew more than all the East, that he 
spake three thousand proverbs, made a thousand and five 
songs, and discoursed in prose or verse upon the whole 
natural kingdom. But it is strange that so few have 
dared to question the wisdom of a man who converted a 
nation of unsophisticated farmers into dissolute traders; 
fastened upon his people a standing army in time of peace; 
introduced those idolatrous customs and self-indulgent 
habits which every prophet had denounced; taught his 
successor to despise the counsels of all but striplings; 
cursed the people with monstrous taxation, and hurled 
them down the precipice of revolution. 

It was during the early years of Solomon's reign that 
these great stories were told in relation to what he said 
and did. We must not forget that the dying injunction of 
David was for his favorite son to build the temple he had 
designed. Tyre, the queen of Mediterranean commerce, 
was governed by Hiram, with whom Solomon had the 
most friendly relations until their disagreement in what 
we should term their final settlement. Much of the 
material to be used in the construction of the temple 
could only be obtained by water-carriage. Hiram took a 
lively interest in the work, and his working-marks are read 
to-day on the underground stones of the great temple-wall. 
The general peace that prevailed favored the carrying on 
of a work so extensive and costly. The Jews, before that 
disposed to go to war on the smallest provocation, became 
very peaceable through their sovereign's spirit. The 



FIX ST KINGS. 2T5 

building of the temple was not the only thing to be done. 
Improvements took place all through the city of a perma- 
nent character. 

What were then known as "the idol-serving nations" 
comprised the entire East — indeed pretty much the whole 
world. All of them had splendid temples in which to as- 
semble and pay divine honor to what in their opinion de- 
served adoration. The Israelites had something of a cen- 
tral point at Shiloh, but nothing to be named in compari- 
son with a city of temples like Karnac, or a perfect build- 
ing like the Parthenon. Such a house as their God de- 
served they determined to build. The bare idea not' only 
awakened enthusiasm, but stirred within them thoughts of 
the grand, imposing, and beautiful. At this time the Jews 
had many true conceptions of the Spirit of Spirits. Their 
worship in all its belongings was far in advance of any 
other people. This superiority was justly felt, so that 
they could hardly help looking down with scorn on Ihe 
gods of wood and stone and their blind devotees. Among 
the Jews the good seed was sown from which the growth 
of after years came. If we say it was a feeble growth 
and the fruit small, we are to remember how stubborn the 
soil was, and how that flame had to rise as if it were in 
the midst of the; ocean, witli the surge heaving against it 
and the waves threatening to dash it out with every gale. 
Now in that crude beginning we can trace the soul- 
inspiring worship of the present day, the higher thoughts 
and quickened aspirations of an eternal spiritual essence. 

The wort of the temple wenl forward withoul abate- 
ment. And as the bronzes were cast in furnaces near the 



216 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Jordan and the stones hewn in the lately discovered quar- 
ries under the city, " like some tall palm the noiseless 
fabric grew." To say that the devotion offered in that 
temple was any thing but sincere would be untrue. By 
means of this magnificent shrine the nation won a name 
throughout the world. Their faith, at that time in the 
true God, was every where honorably noticed, though not 
extensively adopted. 

Chapter XI. Great men have often great failings mixed 
with nobleness and devotion to truth, showing plainly 
what a singular compound human nature is. Solomon 
loved many strange women; indeed they were quite too 
numerous for his comfort. Seven hundred were enough 
to turn the heart of any man without the aid of three 
hundred concubines. The whole comprised a larger num- 
ber than an eminently wise man after due consideration 
would care to manage. In our Christian days when only 
a single wife is allowed, the Mormon with his dozen is re- 
garded with abhorrence. True, the habits of society have 
changed in these thousands of years Grant they have, 
can we condemn the Mormons for adopting Solomon's 
practice in one respect while we adopt it in many ? Seven 
hundred wives were no more necessary then than now. 
They were a curse to him and a burden to the land. The 
fashion of idolatry set by Solomon's heathen ladies, and 
followed by thousands of elegantly dressed women, would 
turn the heads of multitudes of Hebrew wives, who would 
not find it hard to seduce their husbands to the more im- 
posing ceremonies of Egypt. That Solomon above all 
men was led into idolatry is a wonder. God's chosen and 



FIRST KINGS. 211 

peculiar people seem to have longed continually for heathen 
worship as if it were emancipation from an irksome re- 
straint; or from customs, like circumcision, despised by 
the rest of the world. 

History lets us see that Solomon's court and the chief 
men about him, long before the close of his reign, had 
reached a high degree of licentiousness ; so that a penetra- 
ting, prophetic eye could plainly detect the fearful calam- 
ity impending over their nation. Hence the many predic- 
tions and their almost literal fulfilment. So widely had 
the whole nation strayed from the right path, and so nu- 
merous were their transgressions that the spirit of truth, 
which comes from God and therefore virtually is God, 
warned Solomon the wise that the kingdom would pass 
out of his hands. It did; and Jeroboam stole away ten 
tribes. Rehoboam, who remained over the two faithful 
tribes, and who began his. administration with scoffing at 
the grey-heads, was little better than his idolatrous com- 
petitor. His father had started in the way of idolatry 
some time before his death. This son of his led the people 
farther and farther, so that we are amazed at the condition 
of Israel so soon after David's reign, a man after God's 
own heart, with all that Solomon did and was, seeing that 
the Jews were under Jehovah's especial guidance and train- 
ing. Jeroboam even caused two golden calves to be 
made and set up for daily worship. This was leading 
Israel down to the animalism of Egypt. Had he only in- 
stituted the synagogue-service, ho might have saved the 
ton tribes from ultimate extinction. After a very short 
and ignoble reign the successor of Solomon was cut off. 



218 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Chapter eighteenth represents Elijah as kindling- a pile 
of wood by calling- down fire from heaven upon the altar 
he had erected; after water had been poured upon it. May 
it not be possible that the stones were like lime, ignited by 
water, and that Elijah had discovered the properties of 
the stones and had brought them with him unknown to the 
Baal-priests ? The great difficulty in thus explaining away 
the miracle is to believe that no one else shared this 
knowledge — that the rival priests did not apply the secret 
to their own sacrifice, and so anticipate the wonder-working 
power of the true prophet. In this power of working won- 
ders only Moses is represented as surpassing Elijah. Cer- 
tainly he was far above his cotemporaries. Probably 
many persons took up the business of prophesying, some 
of whom were likely to prove utter cheats. But Elijah 
hazarded his life repeatedly in attestation of his sincerity; 
he often threw himself against the wicked will of his king, 
and very frequently felt that his breath might be arrested 
in a moment. 

Chapter twenty-second tells of a three years' war be- 
tween Syria and Israel. The third year Jehoshaphat came 
to the king of Israel to say that Ramoth Gilead could be 
taken from Syria. Thereupon they agreed to participate 
in the spoils. To encourage the enterprise four hundred 
prophets exhorted them to march on to victory. Though 
such an army of holy men approved the invasion, the allied 
kings seem to have mistrusted them so much as to require 
the additional assurance of a more independent oracle, the 
prophet Micaiah; who at first repeated the direction already 
g'iven, after stating that the Lord had commanded him to 



FIRST KINGS. 279 

speak the truth. Then he echoed the former prophecy. 
But Ahab doubted his word, and adjured Micaiah to be 
honest; whereupon this strange prophet determined to 
give his good spirit the ascendancy by declaring his vision 
of all Israel being scattered upon the hills as sheep without 
a shepherd. He also said he saw the Lord sitting on his 
throne, and all the hosts of heaven standing by him on 
his right and on his left. To doubt the truth of that state- 
ment can hardly be infidelity. To consider it as a mat- 
ter of fact is not so hard as to say the Lord was anxious 
to have Ahab slain in battle; and that in consequence of 
that anxiety he took the trouble to find some one in all the 
splendid court of heaven that was willing by His express 
command to come down to earth and be a lying spirit in 
the mouth of all the prophets of Israel. Is it possible 
that such a question was asked in heaven by the God of 
all the earth, and corresponding directions given? One 
willing spirit said, "I will go;" and when questioned as to 
the way he would accomplish the matter, said he " would 
be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets." The 
Lord said, "Go and prosper." The king ol* Israel and his 
ally were both defeated, and Ahab slain. Micaiah was a 
true prophet, either by God's assistance, or by having a 
brave conscience of his own. If the four hundred proph- 
ets wore influenced by a lying spirit sent from God (which 
we do not believe), how could they be blamed? Perhaps 
we might consider it the action of an unenlightened eon- 
science in these prophets, such as prompted Paul at first 
to persecute the Christians. 



280 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

SECOND KINGS. 

THE second book of Kings is a continuance of the first, 
and refers to what happened from 900 B. C. to 588. 
The ten tribes, we remember, revolted B. C. 976. Judah 
and Benjamin adhered to Rehoboam and formed the king- 
dom of Judah; while the ten tribes under Jeroboam formed 
the kingdom of Israel. These separate governments were 
maintained under the names of Judah and Israel for the 
space of 255 years. In the year 721 B. C. the ten tribes 
were carried into captivity by the Assyrians; but before 
this the division led to much contention in matters of gov- 
ernment as well as of religion, and not unfrequently to 
bloody wars. With the people of Judah the succession of 
kings was more regular than with the Israelites. This 
final division is known especially as the revolt or rebellion 
of the ten tribes, with whom there was less regularity in 
worship, less regard of the priesthood, more idol-worship, 
and particularly what was more remarkable, the adoration 
of a calf. For some time this was thought to be an imita- 
tion of Egypt, where the ox was worshiped from his utility 
in agriculture and as a symbol of the sun, and so easily 



SECOND KINGS. 281 

connected with the service of Baal. But Jeroboam's pur- 
pose was only to modify the old religion, not to introduce 
a new one. Aaron considered the calf-feast as dedicated 
to Jehovah; the prophets who sanctioned this new service 
were still regarded as prophets of Jehovah. So that we 
believe this to have been merely a cherubic symbol of the 
Deity who filled the Holy-of-Holies with his presence. 
Certainly a belief in the true God was kept alive in Israel 
and kindled anew by prophetic fire. The ten tribes relied 
as implicitly on these living oracles of God as did their 
Jew brethren upon an anointed priesthood, claiming descent 
from Aaron. 

In this second book the history begins with Ahaziah on 
the throne of Israel, with his capital at Samaria; and 
Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, with Jeru- 
salem for his royal city. Elijah officiated as chief prophet. 
Wars were unceasing, Judah against Ephraim and Ephraim 
against Judah. In the very first chapter misfortunes begin: 
Moab rebels against Israel. King Ahaziah sends to inquire 
about his recovery from a serious fall to Baalzebub, the 
god of Ekron, instead of seeking help from Elijah, who 
represented the tutelar divinity of the nation. Therefore 
the Lord said he should surely die; or Elijah said so for 
Him; who it seems was a hairy man called the Tishbite, 
wearing a girdle of leather about his loins, and living high 
up on a hilltop, an admirable position either for defence or 
observation. The king sent out fifty men against this 
"man of God." Elijah called down fire from heaven upon 
them, and they were consumed; as also were the next fifty 
and their captain; but the third fifty with their captain 



282 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

went up and kneeled before Elijah and begged him to go 
down with them to the king, pledging to him the safety of 
his life; and he did go down, and told Ahaziah he should 
surely die before lie left his sick-bed. 

Chapter II. Desiring to take Elijah up into heaven, the 
Lord is represented as waiting for him to go with Elisha 
to Gilgal, then to Bethel and Jericho, lastly to Jordan, where 
they stopped a while to look about them. Then Elijah 
took his mantle, wrapped it together, and smote the waters, 
whereupon they divided, and Elijah and Elisha passed over 
on dry ground. Elisha then obtained a promise from 
Elijah that a double portion of the father's spirit should fall 
on his spiritual son were he so fortunate as to see him 
when he was taken up. Just at that moment the chariot 
of fire appeared drawn by horses of fire, and Elijah went 
up by a whirlwind into heaven. As he went up his pro- 
phetic mantle fell from his shoulders and was caught by 
Elisha, who lost no time in trying how it would work in 
his hand; and to his great joy found it had lost none of its 
power. 

When the waters of Jordan were smitten they divi- 
ded for him as they had before for Elijah, and dry land 
appeared for his passage across the river. This act was 
witnessed by the sons of the prophets at Jericho, who 
exclaimed that the spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha, and 
they bowed themselves before him. A proposition was 
made by these sons of the prophets to send fifty strong 
men and if possible find the missing Elijah, thinking his 
unburied remains had been left on some high mountain or 
in some deep valley. These men, after a three days' 



SECOND KINGS. 283 

search, returned to Jericho. Believing- Elisha would do 
them good service, the people of Jericho told him that, but 
for the barreimes of the land and the lack of water, they 
would ask him to remain. Immediately he made the deci- 
sion to try his ability at wonder-working". A new cruse 
is called for (an old one would not answer), and filled with 
salt; the contents of which were emptied into a spring from 
whence they had been taking water of an inferior quality; 
and Elisha told them that the Lord had healed the waters 
so that no more deaths should happen, nor should the land 
be barren. " So the waters were healed unto this day." — 
v. 22. Meaning as in many other cases, years after the 
history was written. On his way from the springs to 
Bethel he was insulted by a few boys who taunted him on 
account of his bald head. Dearly did they pay for this 
act, as Elisha culled two ravenous she-bears from a wood 
near by, who tore in pieces the whole forty-two children. 
Possibly the boys in that neighborhood needed a lesson of 
reverence, but this wholesale murder looks like a burst of 
savage resentment, terrible even in a savage age, and un- 
pardonable in one illuminated from on high; yet Elijah and 
Elisha were both good and able men. When the first 
named disappeared, who shall say he did not go directly 
up to heaven? and on the other hand, who can say he did ? 
Flesh and blood, we are told, cannot inherit the kingdom 
of heaven, and it is therefore to be inferred that ordinary 
flesh and blood have no place there. Many contend that 
Jesus was taken up to heaven as a man with a double 
nature — human and divine — and thus became the first 
fruits of the resurrection. Others, equally honest and 



284 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

good, say his spirit went to God who gave it, and his body 
in due time to the dust. This, however, is not a matter for 
discussion in this connection. We are tempted to say 
that if any one was ever taken up into the clouds or into 
the heavens, clothed with an ordinary body, and not be- 
yond the attractive power of our planet, they came down 
soon after going up in the same shape. Going up a dis- 
tance in a straight line from the earth's center would 
bring one into a temperature cold enough to freeze any- 
thing in the shape of flesh, and certainly destroy animal 
life. Translation may be possible in an instant from this 
earth to heaven. Let those think so that can, if it makes 
them any better or happier, but do not let such call other 
people hard names who do not see reason to believe with 
them. 

Chapter III. Jehoram reigned over Judah twelve years 
and sinned greatly, though he put away the image of 
Baal. 

The king of Moab rebelled against Israel, and Jehoram 
numbered his men of war to see if he could meet him. 
He also asked assistance from Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. 
So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of 
Edom fetched a compass of seven days' journey, and ar- 
rived at an utter desert where there was no water for the 
men or the cattle. While in sore distress and peril of life, 
Jehoshaphat inquired if there was not a prophet of the 
Lord to be had. One of the servants of the king of Israel 
spoke of Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who was living evi- 
dently a very private life near by. On being sent for he 
made reply that they had better call on their own prophets; 



SECOND KINGS. 285 

though he finally said that Jehoshaphat ought to be favora- 
bly considered, and so invoked the help of music to be- 
come an oracle of the Most High. When the minstrel 
played the hand of the Lord came upon him. Let us mark 
the profound wisdom this man of God showed when he 
commanded that the land be made full of ditches. The 
ground being soft and marshy, no rain was needed; this 
system of drainage soon supplied the army with water. 
Nor was this all he did for them. A promise was made 
directly from the Lord that the Moabites should be deliv- 
ered into their hands. Let us mark now what this man 
of God commanded the Lord's chosen people — to smite 
every fenced city; cut down every good tree; fill up all 
wells of water; and mar every good piece of land with 
stones. On both sides every available man was mustered, 
and a sanguinary battle was fought; the Moabites suffered 
defeat with the usual slaughter, after which the Israelites 
conducted themselves toward the vanquished party worse 
than ever the Vandals did at a later period. Every thing 
possible was destroyed as the man of God had directed. 
So ruthless were the people now held up to us as a pattern, 
and as acting all the time under God's peculiar direction. 

Chapter IV. Elisha had a visit from a widow, who told 
him her husband when alive served the Lord, but dying in 
debt the creditor was about to take her two sons as bond- 
men. Elisha, more thoughtful than some who visit the poor 
now-a-days, enquired what he could do for her; and kindly 
asked what she had in the house to eat. Her reply was, 
nothing " save a pot of oil." Then came the time for Elisha 
to show his ability in the way of miracles; and it seems 



286 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

that Elisha was confident of success, for the widow was 
directed to borrow all the empty vessels she could among 
her neighbors. The doors were ordered to be closed after 
the manner of modern spiritualists; and the widow com- 
menced to pour into the borrowed vessels until all were 
full. Then the oil was sold, the debt paid, and possibly 
something left with which to buy food. 

This Elisha showed a marked preference for ladies, and 
at Shunem met a certan woman who had a husband. 
Another actor here comes upon the stage — the servant of 
Elisha, named Gehazi, who was ordered to call the woman 
to his chamber. She obeyed, and Elisha inquired what he 
could do for her. The reply was that she lived with her 
people, and had no particular wants to be supplied. 
Gehazi suggested that she was childless. Elisha told her 
that in the regular course of time she would be the mother 
of a son, as it turned out. After this son had become 
quite a lad he fell sick, as other children often do. The 
woman — thinking there might be some virtue in the bed 
on which Elisha had slept — laid the lad upon it. Then she 
had an ass saddled, took a servant with her, started in 
pursuit of Elisha, and encountered him at Mount Carmel, 
where her trouble was fully made known. At first Elisha 
was for sending his servant Gehazi to cure the sick child 
by the virtue of his staff alone. To this the Shunemite 
woman objected, saying Elisha must surely go himself. 
He did so, and found the child apparently dead. The next 
thing in order was to return him to life. He entered the 
room where the child lay, made a short prayer, then placed 
his mouth to the child's mouth and stretched his body upon 



SECOND KINGS. 28? 

the lad. Finding the flesh began to grow warm, the heat 
of his own body was increased by rapid walking about 
the house, and again he laid down upon the child, when it 
sneezed and opened its eyes. What was called death one 
may readily see was purely a case of suspended animation. 
Cases like it had occurred thousands of times before, as 
they have since. The apparently dead have been returned 
to life again by processes very similar. No miracle was 
performed in the case referred to, though had not the 
proper means been used for restoration, death must have 
completed the work it had begun. Thoroughly educated 
physicians have sometimes thought a person fully and 
entirely dead, who was merely in a state of stupor. Gene- 
ral anxiety to get up miracles, with lookers-on ready to 
believe them, renders the work quite easy. Lying in their 
coffins, those believed to be dead have occasionally come 
to life again. Instances are not numerous where buried 
persons have been proved to have turned partially or 
entirely over in their coffins, but there are some such. 
This act of Elisha's, however, gave further evidence that 
he was really a man of God, and led the simple-minded at 
the time to believe that he could raise the dead and do al- 
most any thing else he was asked to do. His fame spread 
rapidly. Nor is he the only one who gains a great name 
by understanding how to turn appearances to account. 
Thousands are able to amuse us in that way, at the same 
time saying to the lookers-on frankly that their perform- 
ances are only deceptions. 

Elisha went away, but soon came back to Gilgal, and 
found a great dearth prevailing there. Famines have 



288 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

always been familiar events in Syria. Being full of 
strange ideas, he called for a seething pot, and ordered 
herbs to be gathered and put in the pot; but, when the 
contents were examined, something was found which they 
thought poisonous, and the sons of the prophets who stood 
around would not eat. Whereupon Elisha cast in a handful 
of meal and the poison was neutralized. About that time 
some one came to the place with a quantity of corn, so 
that all had food again just as if Elisha had not put herbs 
in a pot. 

Chapter V. Naaman, captain of the host of the king' of 
Assyria, hearing by the way of his servant that Elisha 
could cure diseases of all kinds, went to visit him to be 
cured of a disease always prevalent in Syria — leprosy. 
Instead of going to Elisha direct, the king of Syria did the 
polite thing of writing* to the king of Israel, and sent the 
letter by Naaman. If the king of Israel was aware of 
Elisha's curative ability, why did he not tell Naaman where 
to go, and not get in a passion because a king had been 
mistaken for a prophet ? The story came to Elisha's ears, 
who had a better faculty of picking up news than his king; 
and — wishing to have the chance of curing Naaman — he 
sent a messenger to the king informing him that Naaman 
might be restored. Soon after that, the sick man with his 
horses and chariot appeared at Elisha's house, and only 
received the order to wash in Jordan seven times. This 
he did very unwillingly and was made clean. As the Bible 
is not a medical book, we are furnished with no special 
information about this disease in the Old Testament, nor 
yet in the New. Nothing like a diagnosis is given. Possi- 



SECOND KINGS. 289 

bly it was brought on by excesses of some kind to which 
Syrian magnates were so much addicted; and besides, the 
climate tends no doubt to eruptions of the skin, as at the 
present da} 7 . Naaman said they had two notable rivers at 
Damascus, Abana and Pharpar, and asked the question 
why bathing in them would not be as efficacious as in 
the Jordan. Soft rain-water would be likely to benefit a 
patient troubled with cutaneous eruptions, but had Naaman 
been cured by ablutions in a river of his own choosing, 
Elisha would have lost the credit. Naaman had no faith, 
but being urged by his principal servant, he went and 
dipped himself in Jordan seven times as directed, and his 
flesh became as soft as that of a little child. Naaman re- 
turned to Elisha, acknowledged the cure, and for a work 
so important proposed to give his blessing to Elijah, at the 
same time offering him a present, which was refused. 
After confessing that the God whom Elijah worshiped was 
above all other gods, and that he believed in Jehovah, he 
begged pardon for officiating in the worship of his master's 
god in the house of Rimmon. This was asking to be 
allowed more liberty than any one ought to have. Who- 
ever worships an inferior deity, person or thing, knowing 
at the time it is such, and to the neglect of the one he 
believes supreme, commits the worst profanity and hypoc- 
risy. Elisha's servant Gehazi, who actually hankered for 
presents, pursued on after Naaman, feeling that those who 
desired to pay ought to have a chance. That Gehazi went 
out on this expedition without the knowledge of Elisha 
seems to be implied in the account, though there; are 
always watching eyes and listening ears to take note of 



290 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

what is going on and report to the master. So in this 
case. Elisha knew all that Gehazi had been doing. His 
servant's double falsehood — implying that the prophet 
could be cheated like other men — brought out a flash of 
indignation from which Gehazi and his family were repre- 
sented as suffering through all time. A frightful severity 
if the curse extended to children and grand-children. A 
strange manifestation of God's mercy. How were unborn 
babes responsible for their grandsire's treachery ? 

The main drift of this present work will have been ap- 
parent long ago to the attentive reader, which is to disa- 
buse the public mind in regard to some things contained 
in the Bible; but at the same time to maintain with the 
utmost firmness all that leads to good works, enforces 
duty, or in any way serves to make mankind happier, 
wiser, or better. The term " man of God " is found in 
the old scriptures, so the question may as well be asked 
here: What is understood by it? Is it not likely it meant 
a man specially commissioned by God to do a certain 
work, to communicate some part of His will, or announce 
some thing He would do to the children of men, that they 
might govern themselves accordingly ? Ssuch a man was 
course revered and honored by ordinary people, who did not 
have in themselves such a channel of celestial communi- 
cation. From the books of Samuel, Kings, and finally all 
the law and the prophets, we learn the grand lesson that 
"the way of the transgressor is hard;" that happiness is 
the result of correct action; and that the peace of God 
attends a pure conscience. So much is found in various 
parts of the Bible leading to a heavenly life, that if any 



SECOND KINGS. 291 

soul is lost it will not be for the reason that there is a lack 
of saving truth in divine revelation. Without denying that 
inward impulses have in all ages been operating in the 
hearts of men, directing their actions, influencing their 
conduct, and purifying their thoughts, common sense will 
not suffer us to believe what some men assert about inspi- 
ration. If, at a time long passed, the sovereign God was 
in the constant habit of talking to mortals face to face 
and that too about the most trifling matters, why did he 
cease? If it was a good practice then why is it not now ? 
Does not the world need instruction, need warning, need 
impulse to-day ? God is all the time speaking to us, partly 
it may be from books and from the mouths of the good and 
great men who are about us; and he is also speaking by 
his angels and through his works in the order of nature, 
in a language that all can understand without an inter- 
preter. Those under such guidance and direction are im- 
bued with the spirit that comes from God, and will seldom 
go wrong and cannot stray very far. 



292 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

FIRST CHRONICLES. 

THE two books of Chronicles are a repetition of what 
has been before given, with some modifications and 
additions. They were intended to keep prominently be- 
fore the people the genealogy from Adam down through 
all the tribal relations. The time to which this book more 
particularly refers is from 1056 to 1016 B. C. The line of 
descent from Adam to the sons of Reuben and Judah is par- 
ticularly stated. 

Chapter II. David and all Israel go up to Jerusalem 
(then called Jebus, the dwelling place of the Jebusites), 
and take the castle of Zion, afterwards called the city of 
David, for he dwelt there. David and his captains also 
became masters of the whole Jebusite country and of 
neighboring nations, after slaying an incredible number 
of people, and performing feats of valor unequaled in 
history. Every quality of a great general combined in 
David. His wars were with rare exceptions a success; and 
his courage undoubted. The circumstances in regard to 
transporting the ark from one place to another, recorded in 
the second book of Samuel, are related here with minute 



FIRST CHRONICLES. 293 

detail, not omitting that " David and all Israel played be- 
fore God with all their might, with songs, harps and psalt- 
eries, with timbrels, cymbals and trumpets." As they moved 
forward in the general confusion Uzza happened to be 
killed, alarming David so that he said he was afraid of 
God, and dare not take the ark to Jerusalem. Therefore 
it was left in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite, for the 
space of three months. 

Chapter XV. A particular selection is made of the 
Levites as ark-bearers. They transport it on their shoul- 
ders as they did in their journey from Egypt. By them it 
is taken from Obed-Edom to Jerusalem, and placed under 
a tent. On this occasion David delivered and sang his 
first psalm. Nathan the prophet is represented as saying 
to David that the Lord desired that a house should be 
built for public worship. And the promise was made, as 
a reward for a work so extensive and important, that 
David's throne should be established forever. This prom- 
ise, whether coming from Nathan with or without the 
Lord's authority, was not fulfilled, unless "forever" means 
a very limited period. David, however, was not allowed 
to build the house. 

Chapter XXI. Much is said about the sin David com- 
mitted by numbering Israel. This has been spoken of 
previously as the natural and important duty of all rulers. 
For without a census how could wise calculations be made 
as to the propriety of war with nations who were insulting 
or encroaching upon them ? If unable to cope with an 
enemy, prudence would dictate various other courses; but if 
the national honor was to be vindicated, every noble impulse 

820 



294 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

would urge a nation on to the work. For thus taking the 
census of Israel, however, David was to be punished. The 
total number of such as could handle the sword was given 
at over one million. David alone was responsible for this 
numbering, so there seemed to be no reason why all Israel 
should have been smitten— as we read — for his individual 
sin. The Lord spake to David through Gad, David's seer, 
and told him that for his punishment he could select either 
of three things: to suffer three years of famine, three 
months of destruction by the sword of his enemies, or 
three days of pestilence throughout all the coasts of Israel. 
Considering all of these as hard to bear, David was in a 
dilemma, but soon decided to put himself in the hands of 
the Lord — just where he was all the time. The Lord acts 
as seems good to Him, whether man is suited or not; sends 
pestilence or causes it to cease at His will. A pestilence 
came and destroyed seventy thousand. Gad, the chief 
prophet and historian of the times, took a very active part 
in the matter as the mouth-piece of God. We are expected 
to believe that David was perfectly safe in relying on what 
this seer told him as to this matter of punishment, or any 
thing else. 

Chapter XXVIII. All the princes of Israel being assem- 
bled together by David, he declares that Solomon is to be 
his successor, and goes on to give directions about building 
the temple, for which particular plans have been provided 
and materials collected. The promise was also made that 
Solomon's kingdom should be established forever, both by 
the Lord and by David, though it was no more true than 
was the same guaranty made forty years before to David; 



MRS! CHRONICLES. 295 

unless, as some conclude, one generation meant " forever," 
and two generations were the same as " forever and ever." 
That David had prepared with all his might to build a 
house of worship, seems plain from the narrative. Im- 
mense supplies had been collected from far and near. 
Gold and silver, brass and iron, wood, marble and precious 
stones had been gathered for erecting and furnishing the 
new temple — all of the choicest kind and on the most 
extensive scale. 



296 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

SECOND CHRONICLES. 

THIS second book of Chronicles is a continuation of the 
first, and like it a repetition of much that is contained 
in the books already noticed. The reign of David closed 
and that of Solomon began about 1016 B. C. Plans had 
been made ready for Solomon to begin work on that mag- 
nificent temple which he desired to make the wonder and 
admiration of the world. He naturally availed himself of 
the abundant materials David had provided for an exten- 
sive house in which to worship Jehovah. Delay was 
unnecessary, and there was none. Every part of the work 
was pushed forward with vigor till its completion. The 
whole time occupied in its construction was seven and 
a half years. Joyful indeed was the day when the last 
finishing touch was given. All Jewish hearts overflowed 
with gladness. The neighboring nations appear to have 
felt the significance of the event. A formal dedication 
followed with every possible effort to make the occasion 
one that would long be remembered. Solomon made 
promises that at the time he must have known would 
never be realized, and they were not. But, in justice to 



SECOND CHRONICLES. 29 1 

him and his father David, it is proper to say that the build- 
ing of the temple was an immensely important work to 
his people, and the source of countless blessings. Many 
sincere and heartfelt prayers were offered up in it. The 
hand of a great unseen power is in all good things on the 
earth, as well as in the heavens. By this holy spirit 
the heart of Solomon was guided for good so long as he 
yielded himself to its influence. 

B. C. 902. At this time many of the nations were com- 
pelled to pay tribute to Solomon; among them the Hittites, 
the Amorites, the Hivites, and Jebusites. Here again 
should be noticed that peculiar expression — " and they pay 
tribute to this day" — meaning a long time after, until, by 
the dissensions of the tribes with themselves, these heathen 
communities recovered their independence. 

Solomon had wealth in abundance. Tribute money was 
but a small portion of what annually flowed into his trea- 
sury. Plent}^ of wordly goods generally creates desire for 
display, and the wise Solomon formed no exception to the 
corruption of worldly success. A most magnificent throne 
was erected for him, and when he sat upon it with the 
jeweled crown on his head and other glittering trappings 
about him, the eyes of all beholders were dazzled. 

Accounts of Jerusalem, of the temple, and of the court of 
Solomon, flew on the wings of the wind far and near. 
Notable personages reckoned their knowledge of the world 
incomplete without paying their respects to Solomon and 
the satellites who shone with reflected splendor at his 
court. All visitors were received with ostentatious hospi- 
tality, and not permitted to depart without being impressed 



298 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

with the magnificence which was turning his own heart. 
Among other prominent visitors, the queen of Sheba is 
not to be forgotten. Her desire to witness so much gran- 
deur was intense, and her appreciation of all she witnessed 
at the court of Solomon enthusiastic. The rumors which 
had brought her so far had wrought up her imagination to 
a high pitch. After a personal examination she exclaimed 
that one half had not been told as to the elegance of the 
structure and the greatness of their builder. As this 
queen of Arabia Felix may have seen Egypt, her eyes were 
probably capable of appreciating what she saw, and her 
testimony was confirmed by her magnificent presents of 
spices, which show the country from which she came. 

The writer of this book proceeds to say that what is 
contained from the ninth chapter to the twenty-ninth is to 
be found in the book of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy 
of Abijah, and the visions of Iddo the seer; but no such 
books as these are found in our English Bible. Of course 
we are unable to say how far his statements are justified 
by the authorities from which he drew. The greatest 
objections to these books are their direct contradictions 
of Samuel and the Kings. We shall give only a few: 
II Samuel, xxiv, 9, Joab counts the army of Israel as 
800,000, and that of Judah as 500,000; but I Chron., xxi, 5, 
gives the two hosts respectively as 1,100,000 and 410,000. 
II Saml., xxiv, 24, David pays for the Araunah threshing 
floor, and the oxen for sacrifice, 50 shekels of silver; but 

I Chron., xxi, 25, gives the amount as 600 shekels of gold. 

II Kings, viii, 26, makes Ahaziah begin his reign at the 
age of twenty-two; but II Chron., xxii, 2, puts his age at 



SECOND CHRONICLES. 299 

forty-two, making him two years older than his father, who 
died at forty. I Kings, xv, 16, says that there was war 
between Asa and Baasha all their days; while II Chron., 
xiv, 1, declares there was rest ten years, and speaks of a 
farther period of peace until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's 
reign. II Chron., xiv, 3, declares that Asa took away the 
altars of strange gods, and the high places, &c; while the 
xvth chapter and 11th verse declares that the high places 
were not taken away. 

The most extraordinary numbers confront us frequently, 
thus: Pekah slew in one day 120,000 valiant men of Judah. 
Abijah smote in one battle 500,000 men of Jeroboam's 
army. Asa led to battle against Zerah 580,000 men of 
the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin; then those two 
tribes must have contained three millions of men. I Chron- 
icles, xxii, 14, represents the building fund collected by 
David for the temple as 100,000 talents of gold and one 
million of silver, estimated by Richard, Bishop of Peter- 
borough, at over four billions of dollars ! this the spare 
funds of a ruler of a country not 200 miles long by 90 
miles wide. 

Solomon's death is dated B. C. 976. His son tried to 
enlist the people in his favor; but when they were gath- 
ered together at Shechcm, his rival, the son of Ncbat, 
stirred up the people to demand a remission of their heavy 
taxes. But Rehoboam utterly rejected the counsel of the 
old men, and insolently replied that instead of chastising 
their disobedience with whips as his father had done, lie 
would punish them with scorpions. So that this pretend- 
edly wise King Solomon had inflicted upon his people a 



300 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

headstrong fool for his successor, besides crushing finan- 
cial burdens. Jeroboam took advantage of this aggrava- 
ting insolence, and led the revolt of the ten tribes; alien- 
ated them from Jerusalem by setting up independent 
worship in Bethel; and rent the kingdom in twain forever. 
Nor did Rehoboam learn wisdom by adversity. The proph- 
ets would not let him make war upon Israel, and very 
wisely, because his numbers were less and his ability de- 
cidedly inferior. So he was forced to content himself with 
fortifying fifteen cities and making them military posts; 
but to so little purpose, that five years of his reign had not 
elapsed before he was conquered and stripped of treasure 
by Shishak, king of Egypt — of which Egyptian mural in- 
scriptions give unquestionable evidence. When Abijah 
succeeded Rehoboam he took the field with for hundrued 
thousand men against twice as large an army of Israelites, 
and is said to have slain five hundred thousand — an incred- 
ible number — and to have permanently humbled Jeroboam, 
who, according to the narrative, would seem to have died 
of his defeat. 



EZRA. 301 



CHAPTER XX. 

EZRA. 

THE book of Ezra is a continuation of Chronicles, and 
in itself constitutes a record of events connected with 
the return of the captive Jews to their own land. Ezra 
was a descendant of Hilkiah the priest, in the time of king 
Josiah, and was himself a priest of great learning and 
ability. According to Jewish history, it was Ezra who 
instituted the Great Synagogue, the first sanhedrim or 
council, and was its president. Like many other things, 
the particular place of his death is a matter in dispute. 
Some say he died at Jerusalem and was buried there with 
great magnificence; others, that he returned to Babylon 
and died an exile. What is said to be his tomb is shown 
near the Persian frontier, in the city of Zamuza. The 
period to which this book particularly refers is from 536 to 
456 B. C, or about eighty years. Daniel, Ezra, Mordecai, 
Esther, and Nehemiah held high positions and received 
courtly honors in the land of their captivity, though they 
adhered strictly to the faith of their nation and the worship 
of Jehovah. Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Daniel, Ezekiel, and 
Obadiah were prophets a part or the whole of the above 
period. 

This book begins with a repetition of the last two verses 



302 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

of the second book of Chronicles. Between the sixth and 
seventh chapters there is an interval of about fifty-eight 
years, during which nothing is related concerning the Jews 
except that they intermarried with the Gentiles. 

Till the arrival of Nehemiah, Ezra exercised the principal 
authority in Jerusalem. His influence seems to have been 
exceedingly valuable in reforming the lives of the people 
by putting away their heathen wives, and renewing their 
observance of the Law of Moses. He was to a great 
extent the compiler and publisher of the Jewish scriptures 
after the return from captivity. His great learning and 
ability, joined with sincerity of purpose, enabled him to 
correct many errors in the old, and at least to some extent, 
very imperfect writings. To Ezra more than to any other 
man that ever lived, are we indebted in this respect. All the 
books of which the scriptures then consisted were collated 
by him and the canon fully settled for that time. He 
changed the ancient names of several places that had 
become obsolete, and substituted new ones. 



NEHEMIAH. 303 



CHAPTER XXI. 

NEHEMIAH. 

THIS book begins with the going up of Nehemiah to the 
Holy City thirteen years after the second company 
went with Ezra. Nehemiah was cnp-bearer to Artaxerxes 
Longimanus; but, heartsick with the distressing accounts 
from Jerusalem, he obtained his monarch's permission to 
go up with troops and supplies. His grand work was 
rebuilding the city walls and restoring its former dignity 
as a stronghold. Up to this time they were at the mercy 
of every marauder, their children were made slaves, murder 
was rife in the capital, and the Temple itself was falling to 
decay. Nehemiah threw all his soul into the work of 
restoration, and accomplished it just in time to defeat the 
Samaritan party; and finished his great task just before 
a decree from the king of Persia forbade him to go on. It 
is probable that he returned to Persia and died there in 
advanced years. He seems to have been the purest and 
most disinterested of patriots. He left a luxurious palace 
and the favor of a king to share the peril of his native 
land and deliver its hallowed city from destruction. Every 
act of his life seems to have been upright, noble and brave. 
As a statesman he had forethought, energy, sagacity. As 
a ruler he was decided, watchful, fearless. To friend and 
foe he seems to have acted without partiality and without 



304 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

hypocrisy, as one that feared God and loved his fellow 
man. As a star of purest light if not of the greatest 
magnitude, he beams down upon us through that dark- 
ened and darkening skj r twenty-three centuries ago. Still 
there was one spot even upon him. He was anxious to 
publish his own generosity, bravery and fidelity to the 
world. He even claims future recompense from Jehovah. 
He makes himself conspicuous as the only savior of a 
despairing people and a ruined city. In the fifth chapter 
he puts forward his self-sacrifice as an argument for the 
abandonment of usury. "After our ability we have re- 
deemed our brethren the Jews from heathen slavery" — 
"for twelve years I and my brethren have not eaten the 
bread of the governor/' though the former rulers had not 
only consumed the people's bread and wine, but taken forty 
shekels of silver. He seems to have acted alone and with 
wonderful energy in restoring the rest of the Sabbath, and 
shutting the forbidden traffic out of the Holy City. His 
greatest severity is put forth upon the intermarriage of 
Jews with Gentiles. He represents himself as cursing 
and smiting them, tearing off their hair and making them 
curse themselves if they did it any more. Then, he seems 
to compare himself with Solomon, who sinned as certainly 
Nehemiah had not done — for, "even him did outlandish 
women cause to sin." — xiii, 26. 

The book closes very abruptly after interesting exceed- 
ingly those who sympathize with a struggling people in 
the heroic effort of restoring a ruined city, an abandoned 
worship and a crushed people to something of their former 
prosperity and power. 



ESTHER. 305 



CHAPTER XXII. 

ESTHER. 

THERE are reasons for believing that this remarkable 
narrative was written by Mordecai, and carried by 
him with the book of Daniel from Babylon to Jerusalem, 
to be enrolled with the other records of the Jewish race. 
History gives us fully to understand how much the ablest 
oriental rulers in the fifth and sixth centuries before 
Christ reveled in luxury. Royal banquets, the Scriptures 
show, were distinguished by wanton excess of every kind. 
Chapter I. In the third year of his reign, Ahasuerus, 
commonly supposed to be Xerxes, made a feast to his 
princes and nobles during a hundred and eighty days ! 
Then he made a least to his people of seven days, in the 
court of the king's garden, where the couches were of gold 
and silver, the drinking vessels of gold, and the wine in 
utmost abundance. This was followed by a banquet in 
the palace given by Vashti his queen to her own sex — the 
ladies no doubt of the royal household. On the seventh 
day, when his heart was merry with wine, the king com- 
manded Vashti to be brought before him that he might 
show her beaut}' to the princes and the people. She very 



306 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

properly refused. None but dancing women were wont 
to make such exhibitions at entertainments where the con- 
dition of the guests would subject them to insult. But 
Xerxes, to whose character this story adapts itself entirely, 
was in no condition to brook her refusal. His nobles 
would not dare to resist the wrath of such a despot, es- 
pecially as their own wives might be tempted to assert 
their independence in the same way; and so royal ven- 
geance was visited at once upon the refractory queen ; she 
was divorced without delay, and a decree was made that 
all women should obey their husbands. Immediate meas- 
ures were necessarily taken to fill the vacant queenship; 
and the court officer, whose business it was to manage a 
matter of such delicacy, set about the task of finding a 
candidate for the high position. The question in the East 
is still personal beauty. Lovely girls were therefore in- 
vited to the harem from all parts of the empire. Among 
others came a Jewess, named Hadassah or Esther. By 
advice of her uncle Mordecai she did not make known her 
nationality, and the king was kept in the dark as to her 
origin. Maids were assigned her as well as to the other 
candidates for the royal hand, and like attention was shown 
to all. After a twelve months' preparation (the time 
usually allowed for that purpose), Esther had an interview 
with the king, who declared he loved her better than all 
other women. By royal order, such as did not please the 
king were not called a second time, while those who did 
might be. The king was overpowered by the charms of 
Esther, as any other man would have been. She was 
therefore made queen, and taken to his bosom without 



ESTHER. 30*1 

delay. The reader may wonder how this was brought 
about, she being a Jewess; but Mordecai's counsel made 
it all very easy, as he regarded her elevation necessary for 
the protection of their race. His ability, as subsequent 
events will show, was of a high order; and Esther was by 
all accounts extremely beautiful. Others of equal charms 
had not the same admirable training. Circumstances alone 
do not make men or women. Chances are often neglected. 
It is action at the right time and of the proper kind that 
insures success. Ability without the tact to use it, gives 
little advantage. Haman enjoyed great authority at court, 
had it only been exercised in a noble cause and in a proper 
manner. Mordecai, though a gate-keeper, was gifted with 
a thorough knowledge of human nature. Above all things 
Haman desired to be rid of this .independent functionary, 
and especially to exterminate the race to which he be- 
longed, who were gaining daily in influence. By false ac- 
cusations Haman obtained a decree from the king for 
their destruction, and had it published throughout the 
land. The matter seemed to be fully settled. It hardly 
looked possible to save the persecuted race from their doom. 
But for the influence of Queen Esther, Hainan's purpose 
would have been accomplished. Though only a woman, her 
voice was potent and her prayer likely to be heard by the 
king, who had on one previous occasion said that whatever 
she asked should be given, to half the kingdom. Such an 
expression, however, may be considered as figurative, mean- 
ing probably that favor should be shown and great con- 
sideration given to whatever petition she should make. 
She well knew that Hainan was in every possible way en- 



308 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

deavoring to carry out his plan. It became the one desire 
of her heart not only to save her relative, but to rescue her 
race and herself from the jaws of the wolf. The utmost 
care was necessary lest her influence should be lost, on 
which all depended. Personal decoration may seem a 
small thing and unworthy of especial attention, but in 
many cases it is of the first moment. The impression 
made by a lady who appears appropriately and elegantly 
clad, and the influence she can exert if of corresponding 
ability, is not to be lightly considered. When about to 
make the great experiment, Esther did not overlook this 
All that could be was done by herself with the aid of 
skillful attendants, and she appeared before the king in all 
attractive loveliness on every proper occasion. At last 
the favorable opportunity came, at a sumptuous dinner 
given by the queen, to which among others Haman was 
invited, who had never lost sight of his darling purpose, 
the death of the stiff-necked Mordecai. Not doubting but 
some favorable chance would offer for his execution, a 
gallows had been erected on which he intended to hang the 
surly Jew; and to make the thing as conspicuous as pos- 
sible, the gallows was nearly eighty feet high. All that 
he required to consummate his plan was an order from 
the king. At this critical moment, by some unexplained 
management of the queen or Mordecai, a search was made 
among the records by which it appeared that Mordecai 
had saved the king's life some time before, and that from 
some unaccountable neglect no return had been made for 
this distinguished service. Therefore, while Haman felt 
sure of carrying out his wicked purpose, a decree was put 



ESTHER. 309 

forth ordering that the highest honor should be bestowed 
on Mordecai, in which the proud Ham an was obliged to 
wait upon his enemy as a foot-servant. Thus matters re- 
mained for a brief period, when the queen, at another of 
her banquets, induced the king to indulge freely in wine, 
as was his habit no doubt, and under this influence and 
the charms of his lovely young bride he renewed the prom- 
ise of half of his kingdom. Esther was not ambitious for 
herself; but her very life was at stake and that of the 
whole Jewish race; and self-preservation is one of the 
laws of human nature. So on her knees she begged for 
her own life and that of her people. Her request could 
not in the nature of things be refused — it was for the pres- 
ervation of what the uxorious king loved next to himself. 
Slavery she protested, she could endure — alas ! her people 
had known that by heart — but not a violent, shameful death. 
And it was Haman, the prime-minister, who had planned 
this foul crime. No wonder the king started up in a rage 
and rushed into the palace-garden to appease his wrath. 
Haman felt overwhelmed by this unexpected condem- 
nation; from the height of favor so suddenly hurled down 
under the shadow of the executioner. No wonder he threw 
himself in frantic entreaty upon the couch where the queen 
lay, clasping her feet in terror, forgetting what appear- 
ance he would present to his incensed master. That act 
was the last voluntary one in his life. His fall was as it 
would be in Persia to-day, instantaneous. The vizier of a 
grand empire was to be the first victim on his own gal- 
lows. The pit he had dug for another was fdled by his 
own body and that of all his sons. The next step was to 

s21 



310 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

exalt his rival into his place, to clothe Mordecai in purple 
and gold, crown him as viceroy and place him at the right 
hand of the throne. It was too late to recall the decree 
for the destruction of the Jewish race throughout the king- 
dom, which might have caused their disappearance from all 
history. Instead of that, they were aroused to their own 
defense; and did it so manfully that besides Hainan's fam- 
ily seventy-five thousand of their enemies were laid low in 
the dust ! A perpetual festival commemorates the day of 
Jewish deliverance even to our time; and it is this won- 
derful escape from entire destruction, not any piety in a 
book that never mentions Deity, which has retained 
"Esther" in the Jewish canon. 

The "Amestris " of Persian story must not be confounded 
with Esther. A luxurious monarch like Xerxes would have 
had many wives, though but one queen; and she would nec- 
essarily have been taken, not from the slave-mart, but ac- 
cording to Persian custom from one of the seven great 
families. All that the scripture necessarily implies is that 
Esther was reigning favorite long enough to secure the 
salvation of her people and the perpetuation of her own 
memory through all time, in the joyful festival of Purim. 
The period when this story commences is 488 B. C. 



JOB. 311 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

JOB. 

THIS most remarkable poem of any sect, any age, any 
land, Jewish in rhythm but philosophic in spirit, ex- 
hausting as far as that early period could the perplexing 
problem of a good God's permitting evil, cannot have been 
an Arabian night's story. The mention of Job as a real 
personage, by scripture-writers long after, settles that 
matter; nor were the Hebrews likely to mingle mere fiction 
with the revered records of divine communication; nor 
is there any lack of reality in the narrative; nor was it 
the temper of antiquity to create absolutely false person- 
ages, however it delighted to exaggerate a real experience 
and adorn it with oriental fancy. 

As to the period of its composition, Ewald — who is at 
the head of all European scholars on matters of Jewish 
history — asserts positively that all the manners and cus- 
toms belong to the period between Abraham and Moses; 
that there is no shadow of reference to priest, temple or 
ritual, which must have been at any later date; that the 
life has the fresh breeze of the desert, and the characters 
the originality of the very earliest society. Here, as in 



312 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

the masterpiece of Greece, the Iliad, are vivid imagery, 
sublime conceptions, bursts of intense feeling betraying 
a primitive period ; mingled with hints of courts and trials, 
of mining operations and studies of nature, of sculptured 
figures and ruined sepulchres, which prove that civilization 
had certainly begun. May it not be that Moses heard this 
rich experience during his sad exile in Midian, and wrote 
it out in the poetical form that would be best remembered, 
for the comfort of Israel during the desert trial ? 

The book commences by saying: "There was a man in 
the land of Uz whose name was Job; one who feared God 
and eschewed evil." The land of Uz is now understood to 
have been in Idumea, though nothing certain is known 
about it; nor have we any account of the place where the 
book was written. According to the story Job had exten- 
sive portions of superior land giving support to numerous 
flocks and herds; had many children and grandchildren, all 
residing near him in prosperous circumstances; in fact had, 
as we say, every thing heart could wish. A repetition of 
the whole story is unnecessary here, as it is among the 
last things that would escape the notice of the general 
Bible reader. The chief actors introduced are Job and 
Satan; though the Lord has some part in carrying out the 
design. 

When looking at the conspicuous position Satan has 
been allowed to occupy from the temptation of Eve all 
through the history of man, and the variety of names 
applied to him, we are strongly impressed with the fact 
that he is indispensably necessary. The singular part of 
this story about Job is in the following words: "Now 



JOB. 313 

there was a day when the sons of God came to present 
themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among- 
them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest 
thou ? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From 
going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and 
down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou 
considered my servant Job, and there is none like him in 
the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth 
God, and escheweth evil ? Then Satan answered the Lord 
and said, Doth Job fear God for nought ? Hast not thou 
made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about 
all that he hath on every side ? Thou hast blest the work 
of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land." 
How does it happen that Satan was admitted to this meet- 
ing of the righteous before the Lord in heaven ? Are we 
to suppose the Lord came down to earth that the devil 
might have a social talk with him ? To pretend that the 
Lord and Satan were in the habit of holding such inter- 
views, would be the most monstrous absurdity ever pro- 
mulgated. If heaven is a place of pure joy and peace, as 
we think, would not allowing the devil to roam about 
within it at will and interview the saints, breed disturb- 
ance inevitably ? 

This meeting, however, must have been of the highest 
order, for the book says: "The sons of God came to pre- 
sent themselves before the Lord." It was therefore no 
ordinary occasion. But the variety of names used in the 
Old Testament to denote the Supreme, lead to some confu- 
sion of ideas. Sometimes it is "Lord," again "Lord God/ 5 
"Lord our God," "God of Israel," &c. If it be said that 



314 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Lord and God mean the same all through the different 
books, the way one name is placed in connection with 
the other is not easily explained. In the first part of the 
Bible, the historian says: " The sons of God saw the daugh- 
ters of men were fair, and took to themselves wives, and 
they bare sons, who became mighty men and men of re- 
nown." The name of all legitimate children follows that 
of the father. If so, then the product of this connection 
between the sons of God and the daughters of men were 
necessarily gods. In another place, when the witch of 
Endor was pretending to call up the good old Samuel from 
his grave, she said, " she saw gods ascending out of the 
earth." If this was any thing more than a juggler's trick, 
did this woman pretend there were gods dwelling below ? 
Does not such'reading tend to confuse instead of enlight- 
ening the mind ? We are inevitably led to conclude that 
the term varies according to the connection in which it is 
used. In a general sense it denotes a being that is wor- 
shiped, or any person or thing to which homage is paid. 
Therefore a heathen god, if of wood, stone, or clay, if 
divine honors are paid to him or her, is a god in reality to 
his worshipers. Indeed, this worship may not only be 
sincere, but may lead to the right action; for pure faith 
does not insure purity of life, nor improper faith neces- 
sarily produce sin. The true God is always to be sought 
out and worshiped just as the true faith is to be found 
if possible and cherished. We may after all rest assured 
that when our conduct is all right, our faith may be exceed- 
ingly imperfect without danger to the soul. But woe to 
that soul which is wrong in life even if right in thought ! 



JOB. 315 

For, as the great Apostle says, " he condemns himself in 
the things which he alloweth." 

Heaven is now believed to be a place of ecstatic bliss, 
though it may not have been so considered by the author 
of the book of Job. As no one contends for the literal 
truth of this highly poetical work, further remarks as to 
the term heaven, and the term God as connected with it, 
seem entirely unnecessary. To suppose our Father-in- 
heaven capable of surrendering one of his holiest children 
to Satan, just to show the devil how well a good man 
could bear torment, is to believe God wantonly cruel. 
And what conceivable motive has the power of Good for 
maintaining an argument and holding intercourse with the 
powers of evil ? Such a thing is alike unwarrantable, 
unreasonable, and improbable. The book of Job towers 
over all other religious literature in its sublimity, nor is 
there any where profounder pathos, nor more perfect sub- 
mission to Deity. Job himself is neither Stoic nor Titan; 
but a struggling man, sensitive to all impressions, grieved 
by terrible losses, especially the loss of public respect, 
tortured by an unendurable disease and stung to agony 
by insinuated hypocrisy. Being of course unable to antic- 
ipate the revelation of God's loving whom he chastens, 
hopeless too of restoration to happiness on earth, and 
knowing nothing certain of the hereafter, he is still able 
to hold fast to his faith in God and yield himself entirely 
into the hands of the Almighty. And for that childlike 
reliance he is accepted, is exalted above his sanctified 
friends in divine favor and crowned with fourfold blessed- 
ness. 



316 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

PSALMS. 

THE book known as Psalms is used alike for song and 
prayer in many of the greatest churches in Christen- 
dom, and is valued by devout people far more than any 
other portion of the Old Testament. Indeed, its univer- 
sality sufficiently explains this fact. Hardly any condition 
of life can be imagined but one of these ancient odes meets 
its wants of consolation, encouragement or inspiration. 
Many a weary pilgrim finds support in the midst of change, 
courage in the midst of trial, and warning in the midst 
of temptation, from some part of this Hebrew anthology, 
called in the original "The Praises ;" the most ancient psalm, 
the ninetieth, bearing the name " Prayer of Moses." They 
are evidently the remains of Jewish lyric poetry, not merely 
hymns for public worship, or closet meditation, or dedica- 
tion services; but such songs as cheered the desert caves 
of Engedi; inspired the march of the Passover-pilgrimage 
along the hillsides of Judea; sang the exultation of victory 
over the enemies of Israel. This last remark explains the 
occasional imprecations of enemies. They are to be re- 
ceived as the blood-stains of a ferocious age — written by 



PSALMS. 3H 

hands dripping with human gore — at moments when their 
nation and its worship seemed on the brink of destruction. 
Nothing but the absurdest notion of verbal inspiration 
could ever have made people, whose cardinal principle 
is to bless them that curse us, pray for our enemies that 
" iniquity may be added to their iniquity," that " there may 
be none to show them compassion," and that " their little 
ones may be dashed against the stones." It is far better 
to be brave in our honesty, and own that these are irre- 
pressible utterances of savage feeling which a higher 
dispensation was coming in God's good time to purify and 
renew. 

Taken all together the book is most peculiar. The 
whole was at an early date divided into five parts. The first 
forty-one psalms were selected by David as most worthy 
of perpetuity, and constituted the first part; the forty- 
second to the seventy-second, the second part; the seventy- 
third to the eighty-ninth, the third part, compiled in the 
days of Hezekiah; the fourth part consisted of the ninetieth 
to the one hundred and fifteenth; and the one hundred and 
sixteenth to the one hundred and fiftieth made the last 
division, and readied down to the great captivity and 
afterwards. The latter were most likely compiled in the 
days of Ezra and Nehemiah for the service of the second 
temple, at which time also the five parts or books were 
combined under one common heading. Ezra the scribe is 
considered to have taken these Psalms in hand for arrange- 
ment and revision more than four centuries before our era, 
and to have given them their present form. Hew much 
was left out by him that others might have deemed worthy 



318 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

of a place, or have added to suit their own taste, we cannot 
even imagine. These Psalms are not to be viewed merely 
as such in our sense of the word. They make a part of 
Jewish history, and should be treated as national ballads 
of that particular people, adapted to the worship of a spir- 
itual God in distinction from idolatry, or as intended to 
magnify king David and lead the people to a firm belief 
that he was the favored viceroy of the King of Kings. 

Some of the psalms are as much history as any part of 
the Pentateuch or of Kings; others may be reckoned as no 
less prophetic than Isaiah. They are an integral part of 
Israelitish history. In David's time the land of promise 
had become a land of possession. A permanent sanctu- 
ary — as they considered it — had been erected at Jerusalem, 
and a kingdom formed that should have no end, as their 
scriptures seemed to say. No thought entered the mind 
of a devout Jew that the hill of Zion would ever cease in 
reality to be God's hill, where the accepted people alone 
could worship. Hence the book was a life-book for rich 
and poor, for prayer and praise, for law and theology. 
After these thousands of years, it remains the most fitting 
introduction for private and public worship, for the closet 
and the sanctuary, for the peasant and the prince. And it 
will ever find a home where the good and true congregate ; 
and it will ever make its altar where there is earnest grat- 
itude, hearty penitence or fervid aspiration. Its antiquity 
is no bar to its usefulness. If good and proper in the 
time of Ezra, how can it be any the less so now ? 

The early nations could not conceive why it was that 
infinite power acted by general, and not by special laws. 



PSALMS. 319 

Intelligent, high-minded men did not in olden times, and 
cannot now, see that what are called calamities and judg- 
ments proceed from natural causes, and give no indication 
of divine displeasure. The theory that such things came 
in consequence of sin and transgression, is plainly seen 
all through the Old Testament, except in the book of Job, 
where suffering is shown in entirely another light, as pol- 
ishing the diamond in the upright soul so that all heaven 
should see its lustre. David could not comprehend why 
the righteous should suffer, or why the order of nature 
should hold good to bless so far as it was possible the 
wickedest who conform to laws of the lowest kind. 

The historical associations of the Psalms we will briefly 
show, as they are not frequently brought before the public. 
The ninety-first, by Moses, reflects the forty years of desert 
life with striking fidelity. The eighth expresses David's 
exultation in escaping the malice of Saul. The fifty-eighth 
and fifty-ninth have relation to Saul again. The thirty- 
fourth records David's thanksgiving at being delivered 
from the Philistines' court at Gath. His outlaw life is 
referred to in the twenty-second. The twenty-third ex- 
presses his joy in the recollection of his shepherd-youth. 
The thirtieth psalm was composed for the dedication of his 
house. The six preceding ones were arranged for public 
worship. The fifty-first is the cry for mercy of his own 
bleeding heart. The eighteenth is his grand thanksgiving 
for personal deliverances. The fortieth is a kind of sum- 
mary of what is justly called the first blaze of the lyrical 
devotions of Israel, David being not only their author and 
performer, but their substance and soul. The great pro- 



320 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

phetical ode, the forty-fifth, associates itself with the 
splendors of Jehoshaphat's reign. Psalm lxxx is a prayer 
for deliverance from the Syrian oppression. Psalm lxxxiii 
is a similar prayer for deliverance from allied enemies. 
Psalm lxxxiv is joy at the renewal of worship on Mount 
Zion. The following one is a thanksgiving for the happy 
restoration of religion. The seven psalms beginning with 
xciii, refer to the future kingdom of God; cv and cvi are 
a prelude to the captivity. Psalm cvii was probably sung* 
at the first Feast of Tabernacles. Psalm cix is a prayer 
against the efforts of the Samaritans to hinder the rebuild- 
ing of the temple. The fourteen "songs of degrees" were 
sung by the workmen and watchmen while they were 
rebuilding' the city walls. The three closing psalms were 
sung in Nehemiah's thanksgiving procession when the walls 
were finished. 



PROVERBS. 321 



CHAPTER XXV. 

PROVERBS. 

THE book of Proverbs, as its name indicates, consists of 
what may be called wise sayings collected together 
at various times, and put into something like the present 
shape about 100 B. C. By the Jews they were held in 
great esteem, containing as they do an abundant store of 
practical good sense, being all that remains of those thou- 
sands of moral maxims which had done so much to make 
their greatest sovereign illustrious. Short sayings have 
many advantages over the long and tedious. One is easy, 
the other hard to remember. Ideas contained in the fewest 
possible words ever make the deepest impression. In 
Asiatic lands they are favorites even now. Like a large 
portion of the Old Testament, the first origin of these 
Proverbs is far back in the early ages, though they are 
not to be less prized on that account. Many of them were 
old sayings in Solomon's time, who deserves credit for 
their admirable arrangement, and for indorsing them with 
his renowned name. The Cambridge professor, Dr. Noyes, 
held that the uniform style of the book and the unques- 
tioned tradition justified our belief in Solomon as the prin- 



322 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

cipal author; though the praise of one wife in chapter 
fifth might seem to condemn his own crowded harems. 

Proverbs naturally divides itself into distinct parts: 
the first nine chapters being rather moral exhortations 
than epigrammatic sayings. The second part, beginning 
with the tenth, is made up of what may be strictly termed 
proverbs, or sententious maxims in single verses; it has 
also a separate title as if it once formed an independent 
collection. The last portion contains the sayings of a 
certain Agur, and the words addressed by his mother to 
King Lemuel, closing with an alphabetical poem, i. e. a 
poem beginning with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet 
in regular order. As a life-sketch of Jewish morality 
nothing could be more precious, and the greater part is of 
unspeakable value still. The personification of Wisdom in 
chapter viii, has never been surpassed in any language 
or religion; comparing well with the Logos in the fourth 
Gospel, and Charity in the epistle to Corinth. Noyes ar- 
ranges it thus: 

Jehovah formed me, the first of his creation, 

Before his works, of old: 

I was anointed from everlasting, 

From the beginning, even before the earth was made. 

When as yet there were no deeps I was brought forth: 

When there were no springs abounding with water. 

Then was I by him as a master-builder, 

I was his delight day by day, 

Exulting continually in his presence — 

Exulting in the habitable part of his earth, 

And my delight was with the sons of men. 



ECCLESIASTES. 323 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

ECCLESIASTES. 

THE tone of this book is suited to a time of calamity, 
its Aramean language is entirely different from that 
of the book of Proverbs, its style is as diffuse and vague 
as that was concise and pointed; even words of Persian 
origin are found; we therefore believe that it was com- 
posed some time after the return from the great captivity. 
Moses Stuart says that " Chaucer does not differ more from 
Pope than Ecclesiastes from Proverbs. When I read 
Koheleth it presents one of those cases which leave no 
room for doubt, so striking is the discrepancy." This cer- 
tainly is a great admission for this leading New England 
commentator to make. 

The chief Catholic interpreter, Jahn, agrees with Martin 
Luther in the design of the book — that "it is to teach us to 
enjoy thankfully present things, even our abundant bless- 
ings from God, keeping a tranquil spirit, and a mind fully 
contented with His word and works." Jahn adds that the 
author ''does not dwell upon the vanity of human affairs 
more than upon an agreeable use of the pleasures of life. 
His intention was to repress the restless efforts for wealth, 



324 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

pleasure and power, and at the same time not to increase 
the troubles of life by denying one's self harmless, even if 
fleeting, joys." 

As to the charge of epicureanism, a more correct trans- 
lation refutes it in every place. It is entirely false to say 
that the preacher recommends pleasure without any refer- 
ence to duty, when he distinctly announces a retribution 
for all sinful indulgence; though he does not carry that 
retribution into the hereafter, because the preacher himself 
knew nothing of judgment after death, nor of any life 
beyond the grave. His words: "The spirit shall return to 
God who gave it," are just opposite to the personal immor- 
tality revealed in the New Testament. 



CANTICLES. 

Canticles in Latin is the term for " song." The transla- 
tion from Hebrew is " song of songs." The compilation of 
this book may have been made about 1000 B. C. 

The golden age to the Jews, the time of David and Sol- 
omon, was perfectly suited to the bringing out of poetry, 
music and song. It was evidently a period of great refine- 
ment; especially when Solomon enriched his country with 
commerce and brought his people into intimate intercourse 
with the whole civilized world. Temple worship aided in 
this elevation; and it is only doing justice to the Jews to 
say that no existing worship could compare with theirs in 
sublimity, or in exalted ideas of the nature and attributes 
of God. These songs have been objected to on account of 
unchasteness. But, if we suppose them to be a nuptial 
ode addressed by Solomon to his Egyptian queen, they 



CANTICLES. 325 

surpass the writings of that kind and that age in purity 
of thought as they do in richness of expression. Bearing 
the august name of their greatest sovereign, the Jewish 
collectors of the canon would naturally preserve them in 
their sacred treasury, without presuming to qualify any 
thing they contained. In this manly course we approve 
their judgment, as we honor their honesty. Prof. Stuart 
we find is of opinion that the " safer course is to place the 
Canticles, as the Jews did, among the books withdrawn 
from ordinary use. 7 ' 



B'2'2 



326 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

PROPHECY. 

THE attention of many of the most gifted biblical schol- 
ars of our age, and of the preceding ages, has been 
turned to the prophetic books of the Old Testament, 
They have all been carefully considered and commented 
on at great length; for they are a kind of composition 
not easily understood, and about which those of equal 
ability would be likely to disagree. We do not feel com- 
petent for a full explanation of these writings, and shall not 
undertake it. In order to form a correct estimate of their 
real value, the time they were promulgated and the par- 
ticular peoples and nations to which they refer must be 
taken into account. Some were made before the Babylo- 
nish captivity, some during its continuance, others after 
its close. Many had especial reference to the dealings of 
the God of Israel with his own peculiar people, especially 
directed and permanently cherished by Him. All Bible 
students understand that the prophecies are not arranged 
in the regular order of time, in the present version of our 
Bible, as they were made; that is from Isaiah to Malachi. 
The priestly despotism which answered a tolerable purpose 



PROPHECY. 327 

up to the time of Eli, became corrupted to such a degree 
that the people would not bear it, Samuel was a pioneer 
in the new or prophetic system, and enjoyed a wide repu- 
tation. The people were for a while awed into submission 
under his wise and paternal, but irresponsible sway. At 
one time, prophetic powers appear to have been developed 
over a wide extent, and exercised for many years as a 
profession, and for emolument. There were certain schools 
started by Samuel, in which their education, particularly 
in music, was commenced; they lived together as Coeno- 
bites, sometimes to the number of a hundred at Kamah, 
Bethel, Gilgal, Gibeah and Mount Ephraim, under the di- 
rection of some older prophet whom they termed Father. 
They were in the first place national poets, the compo- 
sition of hymns and the preparation of chants being a 
chief part of their study. Secondly, they were annalists 
and historians, some abscribing to them all the Old Scrip- 
ture writings. Third, they were extraordinary yet author- 
ized expositors of the law. Fourth, they were preachers 
of morals and anathematizers of all immorality in high 
places or low. Fifth, they were a political power like the 
modern press, pulpit and platform combined, ever zealous 
for the law, ever hateful of idolatry, loving their country 
as they loved their church — as they loved their God. 
Never waiting to be called upon for council, they gave it 
in the hour of need, id spite of threat, in spite of curse, in 
spite of priest, in spite <>(' king; indeed their enthusiasm 
never abated, their courage never failed them, their purity 
of purpose could hardly be questioned, whether it was 
Samuel predicting overthrow to Saul, Nathan accusing 



328 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

David of adultery, Elijah condemning to his face Ahab, 
Jeremiah admonishing Zedekiah, or Amos announcing fear- 
ful retribution on Jeroboam. It was this self-sacrificing 
patriotism,^ overlooked in a great measure by the modern 
pulpit, which made them the chief philanthropists of ancient 
times — the temporary saviors of their country and their 
race. 



ISAIAH. 329 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

ISAIAH. 

THOUGH other prophets antedate Isaiah, the best biblical 
scholars place him first in the order of arrangement, 
as they stand in our version. Seven centuries before our 
era is the period generally assigned for the termination of 
his prophetic appeals. Among all others they are entitled 
to the highest rank, not only for their moral tone, but for 
eloquence of thought and beauty of expression. In his- 
toric knowledge he must have been far in advance of his 
cotemporaries, which afforded him constant aid in his diffi- 
cult work. Perfect familiarity with Jewish affairs gave 
him great facility in appealing to the people. We may 
say that wars and other important events might at all 
times be discerned by shrewd observers with some degree 
of certainty. Discerning minds are able to look through 
surrounding clouds. Isaiah could see plainly enough to 
what his people were tending, and that defeat and ruin 
lay directly in their path. 

We have evidence enough that all who conducted them- 
selves like Esaiah and Ezekiel, with many kindred reformers, 
were God-serving and God-fearing men. They had aid 



330 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

from infinite power; no doubt they felt prompted of con- 
science to cry out against the growing sinfulness. Proba- 
bly they believed themselves led of God to proclaim His 
terrible judgments, though many things which they foretold 
were certain to come through the ordinary principles of 
human action. Upon the theory that all truth comes 
from God and is a part of his real essence, so do wisdom 
and understanding; and it would follow necessarily that 
the wisdom of God spake through the mouth of Isaiah and 
every other true prophet. There can be but one fountain 
from which such everlasting truth proceeds, and we call 
that fountain God. 

This book of Isaiah should be attentively perused by all 
who love sublime and beautiful imagery, boldness of ex- 
pression and straightforward talk. The writer commences 
as follows: 

"The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw 
concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, 
Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, 
heavens, and give ear, earth: for the Lord hath spoken, 
I have nourished and brought up children, and they have 
rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the 
ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people 
doth not consider: Ah sinful nation, a people laden with 
iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters ! 
they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy 
One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 

"Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt 
more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole 
heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head 



ISAIAH. 331 

there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and 
putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound 
up, neither mollified with ointment, Your country is des- 
olate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers 
devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as over- 
thrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as 
a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucum- 
bers, as a besieged city. Except the Lord of hosts had 
left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as 
Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. 

"Hear the w T ord of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom: give 
ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To 
what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? 
saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, 
and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of 
bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. When ye come to 
appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to 
tread my courts ? Bring no more vain oblations: incense 
is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, 
the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, 
even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your 
appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto 
me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth 
your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when 
ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are 
full of blood. 

"Wash ye, make yon clean: put away the evil of your 
doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to 
do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the 
fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us 



332 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as 
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be 
red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing 
and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye 
refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for 
the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 

" How is the faithful city become an harlot ! it was full 
of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now mur- 
derers. Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with 
water. Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of 
thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after re- 
wards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the 
cause of the widow come unto them. Therefore saith the 
Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty one of Israel, Ah, I 
will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine 
enemies." 

These words of the great prophet and preacher are in 
the most decided tone. God was with him, enlightening 
his understanding, warming his heart, and opening his 
mouth, hence the amazing boldness of utterance. For 
this especial purpose God raised up Isaiah as He did the 
great reformers in modern Israel, and is raising them up 
still as there is need. 

Against divine light Israel had rebelled; and, as an 
inevitable result, this rebellion brought in its train all the 
curses that had come upon the afflicted nation. As no man 
can put fire in his bosom and not be burned, so no man 
can sin against truth and not suffer. The law of cause 
and effect, true every where, is true above all in the moral 
world. But the remedy is plain; nowhere plainer than in 



ISAIAH. 333 

this most Christian prophet; who can help understanding 
it? "Cease to do evil; learn to do well." Not a hard 
lesson where there was a real desire to learn it. But, who 
can expect to see when they refuse to open their eyes? 
Only the thoroughly honest, when he suspects his error, 
will come to the light that his deeds, if evil, may be 
reproved. May that light pour down upon us from the 
open heavens as we endeavor to interpret that word in 
which it is promised the wayfaring man shall not err! 
May the infinite fountain shed down upon us of its own 
fullness! 

In the second chapter we are promised what yet waits 
God's time for its fulfillment, that " swords should be beat 
into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks; and that 
nation should not lift up sword against nation, neither 
should they learn war any more." With six million men in 
arms in Europe to-day, with vast war preparations going 
on in every country calling itself Christian, with the readi- 
ness of great nations to rush to deadly contest with their 
neighbors on slight provocation, this prophecy might seem 
to be a dead letter. But vast advances have already been 
made in the right direction. Arbitration clauses are being 
introduced into all treaties. International laws like that 
for the extradition of criminals, are coming into force. 
Bayonets arc beginning to think. Military taxes are 
making the people groan. Millions are repeating with 
enthusiasm the gifted lines at the Springfield arsenal: 

"Were half the power that fills the world with terror, 
Were half the wealth bestowed on camps and courts 
Given to redtem the human mind from error, 
There were no need of arsenals nor forts." 



334 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

" The land was full of idols, idols of silver and gold 
which each man made for himself to worship;" and for 
this and other gross sins destruction was prophesied upon 
their high places, their fenced cities, their ships, and all 
they had, and the haughtiness of man should be brought 
low. 

Chapter third commands the prophet: "Say to the 
righteous it shall be well with them; they shall eat the 
fruit of their doings; but to the wicked it shall be ill with 
them, for the reward of their hands shall be given them." 
Women had become haughty, taking delight in ornaments, 
ear-rings, bonnets, jewels in their noses, little balls on 
their feet, cauls and round tires like the moon, mantles and 
wimples, crisping pins, glasses, fine linen, beads and vails. 
All these were to stink, and the hair they thought so beau- 
tiful to fall off. Seven women would lay hold of one man 
when the day of trouble came, and offer to support them- 
selves if allowed to assume his name. 

Chapter V. " Wo unto them that join house to house, 
that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may 
be placed alone in the midst of the earth! Wo unto them 
that rise up early in the morning that they may follow 
strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame 
them! Therefore my people are gone into captivity, be- 
cause they have no knowledge: and their honorable men 
are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. 
Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth 
without measure ; and their glory, and their multitude, and 
their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. 
And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty 



ISAIAH. 335 

man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be 
humbled: Wo unto them that call evil good, and good 
evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; 
that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Wo unto 
them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their 
own sight! Wo unto them that are mighty to drink wine, 
and men of strength to mingle strong drink!" 

What hell was it that enlarged herself so as to hold all 
the wicked Israelites ? Hell is a word not often used in 
the Old Testament. Cruden in his concordance says it 
commonly signifies the grave, and comes from the Greek 
word sheol. It occurs once in Jonah, once in Job, and in 
a few other places. Certain it is that the word is used to 
denote various localities. Jonah cried to the Lord out of 
the " belly of hell " after he had been swallowed by the 
whale; and David speaks once of making his bed in hell. 

Much that we find in the prophetic books is understood 
with difficulty, because the orientals employ far bolder 
figures than ours, and sometimes revel in metaphors. We 
can only guess at the real meaning of the sentence: "Wo 
unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and 
sin as it were with a cart-rope." 

Chapter VI. The Lord is represented as asking the 
question: Whom shall I send to warn the people ? "Then 
said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell 
this people, Hear ye, indeed, but understand not; and see 
ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people 
fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest 
they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and 
understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed." 



336 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Really we should have expected more mercy than that; 
we wonder that Isaiah did not plead for the forgiveness of 
the people, as Moses would have done. Light and under- 
standing would have suited their case better than further 
stupefaction; but the Lord and his prophet came to a dif- 
ferent conclusion, as we read. 

Chapter VII. "Therefore the Lord himself shall give 
you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, 
and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall 
he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose 
the good. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a 
man shall nourish a young cow and two sheep; and it 
shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they 
shall give, he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall 
every one eat that is left in the land." This seems strange 
enough; for it is certain that no one could long subsist on 
butter and honey alone. The child, promised in the first 
verse, might have lived on such things in part, but not 
wholly. Many believe that this was a prediction of the 
birth of Jesus of Nazareth, who is now worshiped as a 
son of the Eternal Jehovah. How can such a thing be 
possible ? This account says explicitly, the child should 
be called Immanuel. The son born to Joseph was called 
Jesus, and at no time by his parents or family by any 
other name. There is no evidence to show that the pro- 
phet intended to speak of Jesus' coming, when the appear- 
ance of Immanuel was to be followed by the land's being 
forsaken by both her kings. All Israel was looking for 
a deliverer in a temporal, not a spiritual sense. They 
wanted some one to rule them as David did, upon David's 



ISAIAH. 33? 

throne. Strange that theologians ever thought it so all 
important to link prophecy with the world's great reformer! 
Nothing has ever been gained by the alliance. Jesus was 
none the more a God on account of his birth's being pre- 
dicted by many or by few. 

Chapter VIII. " The prophet went to the prophetess and 
she conceived and bore a son." From such a father and 
mother a great seer was to be expected, but this Divine 
foresight was least of all a thing to be inherited. 

Chapter IX. "Every battle of the warrior is with con- 
fused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall 
be with burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is 
born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be 
upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonder- 
ful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, 
The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government 
and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, 
and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with 
judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. 
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." This is 
considered by many as proof that the prophets knew be- 
forehand all about the birth of Jesus; and that he was the 
person meant in the foregoing prediction. If the salva- 
tion of the human race hung upon this as by any possi- 
bility referring to the person known as Jesus of Nazareth, 
the chance would not be very flattering. Knowing full 
well with what tenacity the Christian world maintains 
that every word spoken by those prophets must be relied 
on implicitly — knowing the risk we run in attacking the 
theory that Jesus was hero alluded to, we are not able to 



338 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

see it in the popular light, and frankly own our inability. 
Certainly, Jesus could not be the everlasting- Father and the 
Son also. Had Isaiah and the other prophets all united in 
predicting the advent of Jesus for the consecration of all 
men to the love of God and of humanity, the facts of his- 
tory would not be changed so as to make him any more a 
Saviour than he is now. Some one may have arisen 
called Immanuel; but if so it was not Jesus, for he only 
bore one name, while on earth he never sat upon the 
throne of David, nor does he answer the prophet's descrip- 
tion of being then born. Hundreds of years were yet to 
elapse. 

In chapter eleven is found another "prediction" said 
to apply to the advent of Jesus. Thus we have several 
different accounts by the same author, each and all of 
which claim to be accomplished by the appearance of 
one and the same person; and what is most singular, 
these predictions are no two of them alike. Jesus did 
not smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; the wolf 
did not dwell with the lamb; nor the leopard lie down 
with the kid; nor the calf with the young lion; nor 
has the suckling played on the hole of the asp. The 
knowledge of God does not cover the earth as the waters 
cover the sea. Alas ! it never has. In verse tenth we 
hear about the rod of Jesse standing for an ensign of the 
people to which the Gentiles were to seek. Then " the 
Lord was to set his hand the second time to recover his 
people." Hence it would seem he had tried to do it once, 
and had failed. In many cases the Bible is obviously 
wrested from its meaning to gain a point, or the imperfec- 



ISAIAH. 339 

tion in the translation leaves the meaning' in dispute. Let 
it be kept in mind we are not denying Jesus; our faith in 
him has steadily grown with the experience of life, and 
never given way in time of sorrow. 

Directly after the precious promises just now made for 
the benefit of all the world, the command was given to 
"howl, for the day of the Lord" was " at hand," even " de- 
struction from the Almighty." And again, that " The day 
of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, 
to lay the land desolate;" for, the sun and the moon shall 
be darkened, the heavens shaken, and the earth removed 
"out of her place." Great w r ars were to follow: Babylon 
to be overthrown and to become like Sodom, never to be 
inhabited; but, wild beasts of the desert should lie there, 
and their houses "be full of doleful creatures; and owls 
shall dwell there and satyrs dance there." 

Many beautiful sentiments contained in other chapters 
might be quoted, all of which would amply repay our 
labor: but enough has been given to show how important 
it is to do our duty, and what a harvest of tribulation and 
anguish all those will certainly reap who neglect it. 
Whether Isaiah was a real foreteller of the future; whether 
he had such supernatural powers as were not bestowed on 
other men, matters nothing, so far as our doing right or 
wrong is concerned. 

Chapter XXV says: "In that mountain (of Jerusalem) 
shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all people a feasl of fat 
things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of 
marrow, of wines on the lees well refined; and will destroy 
in this mountain the face of the covering casl over all 



340 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

people, the veil that is spread over all nations." The feast 
as stated did not occur at the atlvent of Jesus nor at his 
crucifixion, nor at any time of which we have an account. 
If to come in the future, when may it be calculated on with 
any degree of certainty ? Happen when it will, none can 
be left out. We read also that at some time — possibly in 
Isaiah's day — the Lord was to have a great sword to punish 
Leviathan, the crooked serpent, and the Dragon in the sea. 
This figurative language may not be understood alike by 
all. One or both of the characters named was doubtless 
intended for the devil; if so, and the sword was large 
enough, and the hand that held it strong enough to do its 
work, the above characters are both dead. The reading is 
plain that the Lord undertook to kill them, and surely what 
He undertakes will be done. 

Chapter XXXII. "Behold, a king shall reign in right- 
eousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man 
shall be as an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert 
from the tempest; as rivers of water iti a dry place, as the 
shadow of a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of 
them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that 
hear shall hearken." Plain as it is that the above had no 
reference to Jesus, who was not a king or ruler but simply 
a teacher of righteousness, the meaning is strained to make 
out that what referred to the prosperity and peace follow- 
ing their return from the captivity at Babylon, belonged 
to the far later period of the establishment of Christianity. 

In chapter XXXVII we find the following: "The angel 
of the Lord smote in the camp of the Assyrians one hun- 
dred and four score and five thousand; and when they 






ISAIAH. 341 

(the Israelites) arose early in the morning, behold they 
were all dead corpses." The maimer of their death and 
the number is very singularly stated. We are left entirely 
in the dark as to what weapon the angel employed. The 
corpses were there to be counted, and the count was possi- 
bly right; but who knows they were all or any of them 
slain by an angel ? 

Chapter XL. Here we find another remarkable passage 
often brought prominently to notice: "The voice of him 
that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the 
Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill 
shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, 
and the rough places plain: and the glory of God shall be 
revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." This is gen- 
erally understood to be a prophetic account of John the 
Baptist, and of the events at his coming. Certainly he 
did appear, whether this prediction meant him or not; but 
nothing occurred at his appearing, during his life, or at 
any time since, that bears the least resemblance to fulfill- 
ment of Isaiah's description. The valleys are not filled up, 
nor the hills brought low, neither is the crooked made 
straight; nor is the glory of God revealed to all flesh; and 
therefore we contend that there was no reference to the 
Baptist's advent. 

With one more extract, from the forty-third and forty- 
fourth chapters, remarks on this book will be closed: "I, 
even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no Saviour. I 
have declared and have saved." " Thus saith the Lord the 
King of Israel and his Redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am 

823 



342 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

the first and I am the last; and beside me there is no God." 
This is a plain statement that God is the onty redeemer. 
Trinitarianism being true, it may follow that Jesus is God 
and God is Jesus, and both compose the Hol} r Spirit; or to 
use the more common expression, the Holy Ghost. To 
those who are not in that faith, such statements appear to 
be mere jargon. All endeavors to make more out of what 
the Bible says than it was intended we should, only lead 
into darkness from which it is next to impossible to 
grope one's way out. 

We are very far from exhausting what might be said on 
this noblest of Hebrew prophets — who was not distin- 
guished like his prophetic brethren by some single excel- 
lence, but combined all the grand qualities of this kind 
of discourse -so that they qualify and perfect each other. 
As Ewald says, Isaiah stands on that sunny height 
which an eminently gifted spirit seizes at the right time ; 
which seems indeed to have been waiting for him; which, 
when he has mounted the ascent, guards him to the last 
as its own right man. His fundamental peculiarity is 
majestic calmness growing out of his perfect command of 
his subject. Though in no prophet is there so much variety 
of composition as he has in turn to comfort, to exhort, to 
shame, to chasten; from moods of intense excitement he 
ever returns with sublime self-control to the even tenor of 
his way. His discourse passes from tenderness to threat- 
ening, from mourning to exultation, from earnest exhorta- 
tion to bitter mocking; but at last recovers its divine 
elevation and its Christian hopefulness. 



JEREMIAH. 343 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

JEREMIAH. 

THE prophecies of Jeremiah are supposed to have been 
uttered about 640 to 585 B. C. 
Chapter I opens as follows: " The words of Jeremiah the 
son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the 
land of Benjamin: to whom the word of the Lord came in 
the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the 
thirteenth year of his reign. The word of the Lord came 
to me saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee: 
and before thou earnest forth out of the womb I sanctified 
thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." 
When he said he was but a child, the Lord told him not to 
say that; and putting forth his hand touched the lad's 
mouth, and that day "set him over the nations and over 
the kingdom to root out and pull down, to destroy and 
throw down, to build and to plant." This ordination is 
represented as having been done by "the God of Israel;" 
surely the most solemnizing of all ordinations, to which no 
stately gathering of priests could have added any thing, 
nor solemn music have lent a charm, nor magnificent cere- 
monies deepened the impression; and its record mnst have 



344 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

been by this boy-prophet's hands in this book, and by 
God's own hand on his consecrated soul. 

Chapter III. Reproof is administered, very much as in 
the two chapters preceding, and continued to the seventh, 
when the prophet comes out stronger and condemns them 
for worshiping false gods, lying, stealing, murdering, 
swearing falsely, and many other sins. They were accused 
of building high places in Tophet, or the valley of the son 
of Hinnom, for the purpose of burning their sons and 
daughters in the fire. This the prophet told them would 
go on till no place could be found for them to build. The 
carcasses of the people would be meat for the fowls of the 
air and the beasts of the field, and the whole land be made 
desolate. Summing up the matter, he says: "The harvest 
is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." He 
asks: "Is there no balm in Gilead ? Is there no physician 
there ? Why then is not the health of the daughter of 
my people recovered ?" 

Chapter IX. " Oh that my head were waters, and mine 
eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night 
for the slain of the daughters of my people! Oh that I 
had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, 
that I might leave my people and go from them, for they 
be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men!" "They 
will deceive every one his neighbor, and will not speak 
the truth." "Thus saith the Lord, I will make Jerusalem 
heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of 
Judah desolate, without an inhabitant." Again: "Be- 
hold, I will feed this people with wormwood, and give 
them water of gall to drink. I will scatter them among 



JEREMIAH. 345 

the heathen whom neither they nor their fathers have 
known." Jeremiah's threatening^ were poured out with- 
out stint. 

Chapter XV. " The Lord said unto me" he would not 
regard that people with favor even for the sake of Moses 
and Samuel. The Lord said, Part were for the sword, 
part for famine, and part for captivity. As a whole this 
book is far inferior, in beauty of expression and elevation 
of sentiment, to Isaiah. In threatenings it is about as 
severe, in denunciations as bitter; but in sublimity and 
imagery far behind. In the constant repetition of "Lord," 
" Lord God," with many variations, it exceeds any other 
portion of the Bible. 

Chapter XVI Jeremiah is commanded not to take a 
wife. The sons and daughters of that nation, their fathers 
and mothers, the Lord told him, should die grievous deaths 
without being lamented or buried, and be used as dung on 
the earth. Both the great and the small were to die in 
the land. Could the whole of this book be condensed, not 
more than one tenth of the space would be occupied. 

Chapter XVIII. The prophet says the Lord told him if 
He said He would do evil to any nation and they repented 
of their sins, then He would not do the evil; and if He 
promised a good thing to a nation, and they went astray 
from the right path, they should not receive the blessing. 
Declarations like these confuse us. To suppose that God 
threatens without meaning what he says, or promises not 
intending to fulfill, is annoying tb ourselves and dishon- 
orable to Him. His promises are sure and His rewards 
certain. 



346 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Chapter XIX. The prophet said he was told to take an 
earthen bottle and go to the valley of the son of Hinnom, 
and there make proclamation that the city should become 
a desolation, and cause them to eat the flesh of their chil- 
dren, and to eat every one the flesh of his friends. 

Chapter XX. All are accused of wrong, though the 
priests appear to have been the worst. Such bold denun- 
ciations in time aroused the people, and the prophet was 
denounced in turn. A son of the high priest took the 
matter in hand and threw Jeremiah into prison, where he 
was more violent than before, and louder in his threats of 
evil to come, especially on the beads of his persecutors. 
So bitter was this prophet of God that he cursed the day 
he was born. His cutting speeches took a wide range, 
including censure of many who had no agency in causing 
his troubles. If in his intercourse with the Lord he had 
learned wisdom and how to gaze into futurity, he had not 
learned to be patient under reproach. As the Lord's agent, 
(if such he was), more resignation should have been shown 
even in the worst disasters. 

Chapter XXI. The prophet continues to denounce his 
people — that very people whom Jehovah had chosen — who 
constituted at that time the only people of God, as they 
themselves believed, and the mass of Christians pretend 
to believe still. For, from them came all the prophets; 
John the Baptist was from that nation, and so also was 
Jesus. Taken together, these Israelites were an enigma; 
something that was and yet was not; a people proclaimed 
to be God's, but who, if we can credit their own moral 
guides, were not God's people at all. 



JEREMIAH. 347 

Chapter XXIII. This prophet did not even spare the 
pastors of the people. They were accused of deception 
and false-heartedness, on which account evil was to over- 
take them. The inference is that they did not furnish 
proper food for those under their charge. That was the 
case then and is too often now. When the Lord was in 
the way of communicating so often with his people we can 
but wonder that he did not remove those pastors and give 
their places to better men. A promise is made to the Jews, 
not the whole world, which was not kept: "That God 
shall raise up unto David a righteous branch, and a king 
shall reign and prosper and shall execute justice and 
judgment upon the earth." In his day Judah (not the 
whole world), shall be saved; and this is his name whereby 
he shall be called: "The Lord our righteousness." Jesus 
was called by no such name, except by those who came 
after him; and then only to make out that the prophet by 
this passage meant Jesus; and, however we may esteem 
him as the author of our salvation, we can not think the 
prophet had any allusion to such a personage when he 
announced one who should simply save Judah. Evidently 
it was only of the temporal affairs of the Jews that the 
prophet spake and the ordinary kingship. The exceed- 
ingly prevalent notion that one can be righteous for another, 
or be saved by another's acts, is not consistent with reason, 
nor had it then entered into the mind of man. The scrip- 
tures declare " that all an; to be rewarded according to the 
deeds done in the body." How could that be, if the inno- 
cent John had committed suicide as a substitute for the 
treacherous Judas ? 



348 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Jeremiah had a good opinion of himself but accused 
other prophets of glaring deception, of lying, adullery, 
and other wickedness, saying that they were as bad as 
the Sodomites, and should feed on wormwood and drink 
gall. If the prophets and pastors were as bad as he rep- 
resented, what must the common people have been ? One 
set were accused of preaching lies, and the other of utter- 
ing lying prophecies. They were not real prophets, but 
idle dreamers. And this epithet, scornful as it seems to 
us, was not the worst that could have been rightly used, 
because there was then a general faith in God's communi- 
cating his will to his favorites by dreams. 

But we would not be severe in judging particular ex- 
pressions in the Bible. The early manuscripts probably 
were often imperfect and obscure when they fell into the 
hands of the transcribers. And they come to us through 
an entirely different tongue, which no doubt fails to give 
the force of many an ancient phrase, and sometimes sug- 
gests a thought which the original writer could never have 
had in his mind. We presume every compiler and transla- 
tor aimed at entire faithfulness. Especially, every prophet 
summoned his highest faculty to utter his oracle with the 
utmost power. But whether he really saw " coming events 
cast their shadows before " or not, very little came even 
from the most startling prophecies. The Jews, for whose 
benefit they were almost exclusively given, hastened on 
the same broad road of destruction, after Jeremiah had 
"lamented" over them as before. The fiercest denuncia- 
tion of idolatry did not succeed in removing a single idol, 
purifying a heathen grove, or saving any son of Judah from 



JEREMIAH. 349 

the accursed fire of Hirmom. Prophets may be such by 
God's design for our benefit, and He may give them light to 
discern what common minds cannot. The bare pretence of 
having such powers prepares many to credit all the pre- 
tender may say. 

Chapter XXVI. The priests and the other prophets con- 
spired against Jeremiah, and to be revenged for what he 
had said of them told him he should surely die. They 
could not stand any more condemnation. It is not strange 
that they went up into the Lord's house to talk the thing 
over; and that the prophets, priests and people determined 
he should die. So much for prophesying what is dis- 
pleasing. Let us note Jeremiah's answer — an answer 
that he intended should silence his revilers. It was simply 
that the Lord had sent him to talk as he did. Nothing 
daunted by the general desire to take his life, Jeremiah 
repeated all he had said as to the calamities which would 
overtake them, and told them to do as they liked with him. 
Won over by this perfect trust in his Divine mission, the 
people took a sudden turn, and cried out that he was not 
worthy of death. Inquiry was then made as to the proph- 
ecy of Micah the Morasthite, in the days Hezekiah, who 
said: "Zion shall be plowed like a field," which the people 
declared had not been fulfilled, and was not likely to be, 
and which Dean Stanley says has not yet been accom- 
plished. The fact of Divine mutability would make correct 
foretelling impossible. Summing up the whole matter, it 
amounts to this: that from Jonah down to Malachi (embra- 
cing the whole prophetic period), predictions were made 
more from good judgment and shrewd calculation than 



350 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

from any direct revelation from God. These prophecies 
were re-written and put in nearly their present shape 
hundreds of years after they were promulgated; some- 
times after the events to which they relate had transpired. 

Chapter XXVII. Nebuchadnezzar was sorely afflicted 
and severely punished for wickedness, yet he was called 
the servant of God, and it was predicted that he should 
possess the whole land of the Israelites. They and all the 
nations were to serve him and his sons and his sons' sons; 
which among- other things did not turn out to be true. 

History tells us about the Babylonish captivity, the re- 
turn and rebuilding of Jerusalem where the Jews had so 
devoutly worshiped, and much else about which there 
never has been a question. To give credit for what is true, 
when we see it, is a pleasure as well as a duty. But, to 
pore over the old Jewish prophecies and sayings without 
earnest reflection, is anything but a religious exercise — 
anything but an uplifting of the soul to God, or a quick- 
ening of the heart to humanity. Great care is necessary 
to avoid falling into just the train of thought so common 
to the Jews, that they were the chosen people of God, and 
that all others were rejected. This bigotry shows itself in 
thousands of cases all along their history, and prevails 
among the exclusive party in the church to-day. Much 
of the sublime and beautiful in the Bible is exciting to 
devotion, is inspiring to good works, is creative of faith 
in a power superior to man in his best estate, and is certain 
to bless the good. The marvelous relations that bear no 
close scrutiny, which can never be demonstrated to be the 
especial workings of the infinite God, are by many perused 



JEREMIAH. 351 

with eagerness and fully credited as miraculous. The 
sun's standing still to make the destruction of human life 
a little more complete, which was simply an impossibility, 
is set down as the direct handiwork of Deity. 

Many things appear reasonable and credible to those who 
have been educated in the belief that a particular book con- 
tains the actual words of God. Thousands give their as- 
sent to propositions they do not understand, leaving their 
examination entirely to those who need to have a reason 
for the faith that is in them. How few that read the New 
Testament ever look back to see if the quotations given 
from the Old are truly made. In this last cited prediction 
of David's having a perpetual successor on the throne of 
Israel, how few notice the fact that it never can be ful- 
filled, that the prophet cheered the people's heart and his 
own with a vain hope ! And never did a prophet need en- 
couragement more. He was the Cassandria of Judaism; 
he had to utter woes upon the people when no one would 
listen; when he believed like Phocion that Israel should 
choose " the least of the evils," he could lead hardly 
any to think with him; he had a marked resemblance to 
Dante in having to share the evils against which he had 
protested in vain; while of all the prophets, especially in 
his martyrdom, he came nearest to the experience of the 
last messenger from heaven to man. Certainly there is 
no one of tin; goodly fellowship of prophets whose life is 
so well known; and hoik; whose experience sympathizes 
so entirely with his writings. 



352 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

LAMENTATIONS. 

THIS book has reference to what happened from about 
eighteen years after Nebuchadnezzar had humbled 
Jerusalem by winning a great victory. Learning that his 
father was dead and the Chaldean throne waiting for him, 
no time was lost in preparing for a return. Therefore but 
few Jewish prisoners were taken — only some of the most 
promising young men and princes, with the most valuable 
and easily removed articles; for the full captivity did not 
begin at this period. 

Chapter I. The situation of affairs at Jerusalem is fully 
made known by the expression : "How doth the city sit 
solitary that was full of people!" Sincere and profound 
were the lamentations of Jeremiah. His agony broke forth 
in the saying that he was "troubled in his bowels" as 
well as his heart. He speaks of the daughters of Zion as 
being lifted up to heaven and then cast down to the earth 
by the Lord in his fierce anger; and he says that "the 
Lord swallowed up Jacob." This plainly shows how ready 
these Old Testament writers were to fix upon the Lord all 
such acts as seemed especially awful and calamitous. The 



LAMENTATIONS. 353 

anger of the Lord is called into frequent use by this 
prophet. But how can we justly contemplate the Almighty 
in a storm of passion ? 

Chapter II. The Lord is represented as an enemy vio- 
lently taking away His tabernacle, casting off His altar, 
and abhorring His sanctuary; and the writer continues by 
saying that the Lord destroyed the city walls, sunk the 
gates thereof in the ground, swallowed up the palaces, 
despised the priests, and made the prophets tell lies. The 
writer continues: ".He hath cut off in his fierce anger the 
horn of Israel, and polluted the kingdom." Even if this 
was to awe the people into reverence of a power that 
could do such wondrous things, and humble them in hearty 
penitence, still the expressions are exceedingly severe. 
In time "the high and lofty city was despoiled and its 
haughtiness brought low." 

Others wagged their heads and made faces at the Jews, 
to vex them still more amidst all their distress. The world 
inclined to act that way then, and has ever since. The 
strongest language was used by the prophet to express 
the greatness of the change. Jerusalem had fallen from 
its high rank among cities to a state of desolation and 
ruin; hence the appropriateness of his remarks. When 
the great siege culminated in overthrow, destruction and 
devastation, the scene was more dreadful than language 
could describe. The streets were full of people that had 
no shelter. Many laid themselves down among the ruins 
to die. When the prophet says the Lord killed all the 
young men and virgins, broke all the prophets' bones, 
swallowed up Israel, abhorred His sanctuary — perpetrated 



354 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

all that ruin — it is well to pause and ask if he was not- 
mistaken. Did not destruction come upon that nation, 
city and people in consequence of their transgressing the 
fixed and just laws of God ? 

After exhausting all the strong expressions at command, 
the strain changes to a hopeful tone. Looking at this 
whole matter impartially, we are compelled to say that the 
Jews had allowed themselves to believe Jerusalem the only 
city of God, and the Jews His only people. Of this false 
notion Jeremiah seems to have been fully aware, if we 
can judge by what he says. The great body of the people 
were amazed and confounded with the idea that God 
would destroy His own city, which was the precise case 
put before them by Jeremiah. Other cities stood around 
them unharmed, occupied by those whom they considered 
(as heathen) entirely unworthy of God's care — certainly not 
to be reckoned as their equals. Had the Jews laid no claim 
to superiority over all other people, they would not in the 
hour of adversity have found all the passers-by clapping 
their hands and saying: "Is this the city that men call 
' the joy of the whole earth ? ' J With them a haughty 
spirit went before a fall. In the hour of prosperity let us 
not look down on our poor neighbors, lest their sympathy 
should be refused us in the day of trial, which may come 
like a thief in the night. Let all learn a lesson by the fate 
of Jerusalem, of Babylon and other great cities, that 
reached as it were to heaven, but fell at last into a wretch- 
edness proportioned to their grandeur. Men, nations and 
cities may be exalted by what is real and substantial, and 
so be in no danger of falling; but self-exaltation is another 



LAMENTA TIONS. 355 

thing", and conceited wisdom the vainest folly. Those who 
imagine that they are alone the favorites of heaven, may 
in time learn their mistake. If they conceive God's good- 
ness to be partial, it will in the end vindicate its impar- 
tiality, to their sorrow and shame. Away with all narrow, 
sectarian and partial views! Thank God for the progress 
the world is making; that superstition and bigotry are 
passing away together, and that men are beginning to 
view things by the pure light of reason! The time is fast 
coming when no especial demonstrations from the Eternal 
Jehovah will be looked for; nor will any favoritism to 
particular individuals be expected or asked. Then all will 
rejoice in God's impartial goodness, and be satisfied to 
have their neighbors equally blessed with themselves. 
The great feast spoken of can then be held for the benefit 
of " all nations, kindreds, tongues and people," embracing 
in our estimation the entire family of man. There is in all 
things the motion of a secret power — a controlling influence 
beyond our comprehension. There must be progress; there 
must also be dissolution; and this process of transition 
constitutes the rise and fall of nations. 



356 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

EZEKIEL. 

LIKE his cotemporary Jeremiah, Ezekiel was of the 
sacerdotal race. He was carried captive to Babylon 
588 B. C, and with many others of his countrymen placed 
upon the river Ghebar in Mesopotamia, about two hun- 
dred miles north-easterly of Babylon, where the revelations 
were made to him of which this book gives an account. 
His prophecy began in the fifth j^ear of his captivity, and 
continued for twenty-one years. J. N. Brown, in his Ency- 
clopedia of Religions Knowledge, says the book may be 
considered under five divisions: The first three chapters 
contain an account of the appearance of God to him, and 
his appointment to office, with instructions. From the 
fourth to the twenty-fourth descriptions are given, under a 
variety of visions and similitudes, of the calamities im- 
pending over Judea, and the total destruction of the temple 
and city of Jerusalem. From the first of the twenty-fifth 
chapter to the end of the thirty-second, the conquest of 
many nations and cities is foretold. From the thirty- 
second to the fortieth chapter the prophet inveighs against 
the Jews collectively. The last nine chapters describe a 



EZEKIEL. 35^ 

a remarkable vision of the structure of a new temple, and 
a new polity. The learned Bishop Lowth characterizes 
the style as bold, vehement and tragical ; highly parabol- 
ical, abounding in figures and metaphorical expressions. 
The style he speaks of as Grecian, majestic, but rough, 
as unpolished, though noble in its simplicity. Some call 
Ezekiel emphatically ike prophet. His language and mode 
of expression is so unusual that few ordinary minds can 
comprehend the true meaning of what is said. Yet with 
their many peculiarities, how noble all the great prophets 
appear to us as independent thinkers and brave reformers! 
Their object was to purify and elevate their race. By noth- 
ing less than the true spirit of God could they have sent forth 
such strong and unremitting denunciations. What the 
prophet meant by some of his wonderful figures we know 
not, and ask: Who does? 

We read in the first verse of the first ehapter of Ezekiel, 
that in the thirtieth year — probably in the reign of Nabop- 
olassar — the word of the Lord came to him while he was 
by the river Chebar among the captives; the heavens were 
opened and he saw visions of God. Verse three says the 
word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, 
the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldees, and the hand 
of the Lord was then upon him. A whirlwind comes from 
the north with appearances truly wonderful. Then lie 
sees the likeness of four living creatures; their appearance 
was the likeness of a man; and every one had four faces 
and four wings. But we will not pursue this description 
further, nor shall we undertake to give particular details 
in regard to the strange things this prophet saw and heard, 

■24 



358 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

or the remarkable speeches he made; none that were ever 
made before, nothing ever seen or heard before, could equal 
them in boldness and strangeness. His threatenings and 
denunciations were largely aimed against his own people — 
that peculiar people who were, above all other nations, 
entitled to the favor of heaven. The idol-serving nations 
came in for a liberal share. The reader will do well to 
remember that all said by Ezekiel and other prophets of 
his time had almost entire and particular reference to 
the people of that day. General knowledge of the Jews 
and all the surrounding nations gave the keen observer, 
the shrewd calculator, abundant data upon which to make 
up his mind what results would follow. In declaring what 
was to happen, every word was doubled in its force by 
being coupled with the name so much in use, " Lord." 
But for this, what would have been regarded as wild 
ravings received the most grave and solemn consideration. 
The prophets all saw this, and were encouraged by it to 
continue on. Many were trained in the business of proph- 
esying, just as men are educated now for the practice of 
law or medicine. 

No injustice is done the prophets by such remarks. From 
the books themselves we can see it all, if we wish to 
and will see. But if a blind devotion is to be paid — if we 
are to shut our eyes and swallow — it matters but little 
what is put before us. While we have much to say in 
favor of these bold and good men, there is a bright side 
and a dark one here as every where. 

We should not fail to notice that Ezekiel is spoken of 
as the "son of man." This term is understood to mean 



EZEKIEL. 359 

dignity, favor and honor. The same term is applied to 
Jesus, and was indeed his favorite title, implying the high 
character of his mission and his sympathy with humanity. 
The book of Ezekiel might be dwelt upon to the extent of 
many volumes, although we think time could be better 
employed than in either writing or reading them. They 
would form material for extended remarks, and call forth 
opinions in which hardly any two would agree. 

The writer of this highly poetical book has very much 
to say of Jerusalem; and whoever (as we should say), 
edited the work did so after the return from the Babylonish 
captivity. Some things took place between the first car- 
rying away and the last, but a large part of the book has 
reference to a succeeding period, from about the year 588. 

Before this time the wickedness of the city was so no- 
torious that its overthrow was apparent to the most super- 
ficial observer. Chapter fourth presents one of the stran- 
gest directions to be found in the sacred books: ' : Take 
thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and 
lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one v. ssel, 
and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of 
the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side: three hundred 
and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof. And the meat which 
thou shalt eat shall be by weight twenty shekels a day: 
from time to time shalt thou cat it. Thou shalt drink also 
water by measure, the sixth part of an iiiu: from time lo 
time shalt thou drink it. Thou shalt eat ; t as barley cakes, 
and thou shalt bake it with dung, thai cometh out of man. 
in their sight." Ezekiel then undertook to reason with 
the Lord, and give so me account of his diet in time past, 



360 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

The kind of bread described and the manner of baking- 
it would have been any thing but agreeable to an epicu- 
rean. Prophetic powers were probably increased by it; 
who knows ? 

Chapter V. The threat is given that a third part of 
the people of Jerusalem shall die with pestilence and 
famine, a third part by the sword, and a third part be 
scattered into all the winds. " Thus mine anger shall be 
accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them 
and I will be comforted." Shall we express a doubt as to 
this statement, and think the Lord was not comforted at 
such awful destruction coming upon His peculiar city ? At 
any rate it would seem probable that this sentence was 
recorded after the event took place. 

To say that this sometimes wearisome book is devoid of 
interest would be going quite too far; though its repe- 
titions and its flights of imagination present a remarkable 
contrast to much that we have already studied. That the 
Infinite wisdom dictated it throughout, seems to us hard 
indeed to believe. Besides its interest as an undoubted 
part of the ancient canon of Israelitish scripture, and its 
fidelity to history, two chapters present the grandest dec- 
laration ever made of the absolute justice of God, of the 
elevation of righteousness above the ceremony of religion, 
and the responsibility of every living soul for its own sins 
alone. Those grand words in the eighteenth chapter fol- 
lowing the Divine declaration, "Behold, all souls are mine: 
as the soul of the father so also the soul of the son: the 
soul (hat sinnelh it shall die" And those again in the thirty- 
third chapter, after God says, "As I live I have no pleasure 



EZEKIEL. 361 

in the death of the wicked," reveal the true spirit of the 
real prophet as the great reformer of his people, the quick - 
ener of every brave conscience, the living voice of Infinite 
Holiness. 

What remodeling this book underwent after EzekiePs 
time can never be known. Some authorities declare that 
the persons whose names are attached to the several books 
of the Bible rarely wrote them; that generally the writing 
was done by other hands. And so in this book are evi- 
dences of several composers. Some skillful scribe may 
have combined together fragmentary writings bearing the 
name of this prophet, because they contained chiefly his 
odes, and gave a vivid picture of his times. Hardly ever 
is a book written by a single writer from absolutely new 
thought. The combined knowledge of other times, the 
conceptions of previous authors naturally flow in. The 
sentiment will be retained often in an entirely changed 
form. With all the vividness of his exuberant imagina- 
tion this prophet could hardly have originated all his pecu- 
liar figures, all his dramatic conceptions. This view is 
sustained by the deepest thinkers and ripest scholars; and 
is especially true in regard to ideas of God, and the basis 
of religious thought. Seizing upon an idea that existed 
far away in pre-historic ages, we realize it as a truth of 
to-day, and straightway utter it as an original conception 
of our own. 

Chapter VI. The writer goes on to say that "their 
altars wore laid waste, their cities and dwellings destroyed." 
And thus whole chapters are tilled with the strongest pos- 
sible language to show the degradation of that very people 



362 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

who lived in "the city of our God," and were the peculiar 
subjects of His constant care and personal influence. 

Chapter VIII. An image appears to the prophet which 
he undertakes to describe. At first it seemed like fire and 
partly of the color of amber. " And he put forth the form 
of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head ; and the 
spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and 
brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door 
of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where 
was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to 
jealousy. And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel 
was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain." 
Still greater abominations were to be shown him. " And 
he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, 
behold a hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, Son of 
man, dig now in the wall: and when I had dig'ged in the 
wall, behold a door. And he said unto me, Go in, and be- 
hold the wicked abominations that they do here." The 
writer surely intended us to understand that the Lord was 
conducting him about, or that some spirit had been sent 
for that special purpose. No doubt the God of all the 
earth has a constant care for us all; He lights our path, 
guides our footsteps, quickens our spirits; He too may 
show by way of variety such strange things as are re- 
corded in this book; and these visions must have affected 
the prophet profoundly. 

Chapter IX. "And the Lord said unto him, Go through 
the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and 
set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and 
that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst 



EZEKIEL. 363 

thereof. And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye 
after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye 
spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, 
both maids, and little children, and women: but come not 
near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my 
sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which 
were before the house. And he said unto them, Defile the 
house, and fill the courts with the slain." 

How is all this to be understood ? Ezekiel was intro- 
duced as on the banks of the river Chebar, in captivity. 
By the power of God it might have happened that his spirit 
was taken to Jerusalem, where he was able to see and 
know more out of the body than in it, or visions might 
have passed before his mental eyes. Different parties 
would not be impressed by it alike. Portions of mankind, 
possibly the largest portion, would not stop to consider 
the relation in a philosophical spirit, but merely say: 
" There it is in the Bible, it must be taken for truth, and 
the less it is scrutinized the better for one's peace — the 
better for one's standing in the world." But how about 
the tenth verse, where the God, who is represented as kind 
and loving, is made to say: "Mine eyes shall not spare, 
neither will I have pity." Then a man clothed with linen 
and having an inkhorn by his side, makes a report, saying: 
" I have done as thou hast commanded." 

Chapter X. A thronelike apparition passes before the 
prophet's eyes — wheels, cherubs and cherubim, and the 
glory of the Lord. Then; was also a wheel within a wheel, 
and wheels with four faces — the face of a cherub, a man, a 
lion, and an eagle. This description, with some equally 



364 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

poetical additions, fills an entire chapter. None but the 
most gifted, none but the most profoundly learned, can say 
more about such mystical relations than that they are hard 
to understand, if not incapable of rational explanation. 
The wisest men of past ages have not been able to agree 
as to the hidden meaning of these strange stories. The 
writers themselves, if they had a distinct notion of what 
they intended their readers should understand, failed en- 
tirely of making themselves clear. Enough can be found 
that a person of fair understanding can comprehend, to 
render us great service by enforcing the everlasting laws 
of rectitude. Sometimes poetry is used to give emphasis 
without the writer's being sensible of its obscuring his 
utterance. 

Chapter XIII. "And the word of the Lord came unto 
me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of 
Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy 
out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord: 
Thus saith the Lord God: Wo unto the foolish prophets, 
that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! * * 
They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The 
Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them." They speak 
peace where there is no peace. " Thus saith the Lord, I 
will break down the wall that ye have daubed with untem- 
pered mortar, and will accomplish my wrath upon the wall 
and them that daubed. * * And say, Thus saith the Lord 
God: Wo to the women that sew pillows to all arm-holes, 
and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt 
souls!" 

In the fourteenth chapter much is said about the house of 



EZEKIEL. 365 

Israel. Verse ninth declares: " If the prophet is deceived 
when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived 
that prophet." 

The strongest language is used regarding all the threat- 
enings against the city: "Though these three men, Noah, 
Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should but deliver their 
own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God." 
So. it was declared of various other things, the accomplish- 
ment of which could not be prevented by these three 
famous worthies. 

Chapter XVI. In speaking of Jerusalem the Lord said, 
through the prophet: "Thy birth and thy nativity is of 
the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy 
mother a Hittite. And as for thy nativity, in the day thou 
wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed 
in water to supple thee." What could be expected of such 
a city ? The remainder of this sixteenth chapter gives an 
account of Jerusalem in the time of her glory, a descrip- 
tion of her fall, and her low estate after that fall. 

In chapter seventeenth an eagle is spoken of, under a 
very pretty figure about which much might be said, as well 
as other figures introduced, which are, to say the least, 
ingenious. The three last verses of this chapter are 
thought by many to be prophetic of the coming of Jesus; 
but this cannot be, because the last verse says: "All the 
trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought 
down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried 
up the green tree;, and have made the dry tree to flourish; I 
the Lord have spoken and have done it." All this is said in 
the past tense, as to what hud occurred, not was to follow. 



366 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

Chapter XVIII. This chapter stands out entirely distinct 
from all the preceding portions of the book, and was, we 
feel certain, incorporated by some other author. None, 
however, can read it without admiration. 

" Yet say ye, Why doth not the son bear the iniquity of 
the father ? When the son hath done that which is law- 
ful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, he shall sure- 
ly live. The soul that sinneth it shall die." This chapter 
continues: "If the wicked will turn from his sins he hath 
committed and keep my statutes, and do that which is 
lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 
Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die ? 
saith the Lord God, and not that he shall turn from his 
ways and live ? Yet ye say the way of the Lord is not 
equal. Hear now, house of Israel ! is not my way 
equal ? are not your ways unequal ? Therefore I will 
judge you, house of Israel, every one according to his 
wa}^s. Cast away all your transgressions whereby ye 
have transgressed, and make you a new heart and a new 
spirit: for why will ye die, house of Israel. For I have 
no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord 
God. Wherefore turn yourselves and live ye." 

Chapter XX. " Then came the word of the Lord unto 
me saying, Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel 
and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Are you come 
to inquire of me ? As I live, saith the Lord, I will not be 
inquired of by you. Wilt thou judge them, son of man? 
wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abomina- 
tions of their fathers." Yet the elders of Israel are gene- 
rally understood to have been good men and such as the 



EZEKIEL. 367 

Lord was glad to favor and hear. What view shall be 
taken, then, of the assertion that the Lord would not hear 
them ? Looking at all which we are told the prophets said 
about those of their own profession, their cotemporaries 
and equals; looking at what they said about priests, kings, 
and princes; about men in authority, nations, and cities — 
we are filled with amazement. If the crimes and iniqui- 
ties of the Israelitish nation, and of those about them, 
equaled the description, the wonder is that the Lord did 
not send another flood, notwithstanding the rainbow of 
promise set so conspicuously in the heavens. 

All that is said in the chapters from the twentieth to 
the twenty-ninth, will be passed over up to verse ninth: 
" And the land of Egypt shall be desolate, and they shall 
know that I am the Lord, because he hath said, ' The river 
is mine and I have made it.' Behold, therefore, I am 
against thee and against thy rivers, and I will make the 
land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate from the tower 
of Syene unto the border of Ethiopia. No foot of man 
shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty 
years " The land should be desolate for forty years, and the 
Egyptians scattered among the nations." There was no 
fulfillment of this, as all who will look at Egyptian history 
will find beyond a doubt. 

Chapter XL. This chapter comes down to the five and 
twentieth year of the captivity, when the prophet says: 
"The vision of God brought me into the land of Israel 
and set me upon a very high mountain; by which was as 
the frame of a city on the south." Here we pause, as our 
remarks on this hook have already been quite sufficient. 



368 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

DANIEL. 

THIS book, embracing sketches of the main events con- 
nected with sacred history from 606 to 534 B. C, is 
remarkable as the earliest specimen of apocalyptic litera- 
ture. It commences at the first carrying away to Babylon 
by Nebuchadnezzar of the king's seed and those Israelites 
in whom there was no blemish, who had ability to stand in 
the king's palace, and who could compass all the learning 
and language of the Chaldeans. The condition of these 
exiles on their arrival in Babylon was made pleasant, with 
every advantage enjoyed by the most favored. Especially 
were they to master the language of their conquerors, and 
to gain all possible knowledge in the schools of a proud 
and refined capital. 

Among the most talented of this captive party was 
Daniel, with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, all of 
whom became excellent magicians, and as thoroughly 
acquainted as Solomon with the art of necromancy. 
Keeping this fact in view, what follows is more easily 
explained. Since that time the control of savage animals 
has engaged so much attention, that going unharmed into 



DANIEL. 369 

a lion's cage is no longer a marvel, but an every-day occur- 
rence. New comers are closer observers of all that passes 
than the old inhabitants of a place. Daniel and his asso- 
ciates soon made a correct estimate of the Babylonians, 
and saw that they were slaves to sensuality and victims 
of superstition. Continued excess drugs the conscience, 
debases the mind; and enervates the body. Such indul- 
gences Daniel determined to avoid forever, cost what it 
might; and it was certain to cost much in a luxurious 
capital, especially in an oriental court. Not every one 
has the moral courage of a Daniel. In most cases there 
is a hesitanc}'. Many a man has nothing to blame for his 
life's failure but his cherished doubts. 

These captives appeared as patterns of self-government, 
as models of self-denial, astonishing to a luxurious com- 
munity. The king determined on Daniel's advancement 
by making him prime minister, as well as placing him at 
the head of the Magi. 

Chapter II. The king had a dream, and the occasion 
gave Daniel an opportunity of exhibiting his skill in its 
interpretation and of further increasing his growing popu- 
larity. At first thought, the position in which Daniel was 
placed might seem to be a difficult one; but nothing is 
difficult to a brave conscience and a resolute will.. His 
final triumph explains a little the immense influence exer- 
cised by this book over the early Christian church and the 
great multitudes which still pay reverence; to his memory 
at his tomb in Susa. 

Daniel was told by the king that he had a dream, bill 
would not tell what it was; a most unusual thing. Hut 



370 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

as the king did not know his own dream, the one who pre- 
tended to tell him could fashion the story as he liked and 
have the interpretation ready to suit. A dream is the 
conception of something by a person when sleeping-; but 
if there is no trace left on awakening there is nothing to 
be called a dream. When Daniel pretended to tell him 
the dream and give the interpretation, he was not confined 
to any thing except fitting his cloth to his coat. To show 
the difficulty of complying with the king's request, and 
that something beyond human wisdom was necessary, 
Daniel remarked that no king ever asked a like thing of 
any astrologer before; though by such a remark he vir- 
tually admitted that he acted in the capacity of astrolog'er 
or magician. In order that no mistake should be made, 
Daniel requested time for a matter of such moment. This 
was a wise move on the part of Daniel, and worthy of 
imitation. How much trouble would be avoided if time 
were taken to consider! After mature and of course pray- 
erful thought, Daniel explained the matter to the satisfac- 
tion of all, gaining great credit. 

Chapter three gives the description of an image set up 
by the king in the plains of Dura, sixty cubits high and 
six broad, which all the people were ordered to worship 
when they heard the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, 
and dulcimer. Those who did not were to be cast into a 
fiery furnace the same hour. When the music began and 
the shout went up, the people bowed themselves before the 
image according to command; with the exception of Shad- 
rach, Meshacli, and Abednego, who resolutely refused to 
obey the king, knowing full well that he would keep his 



DANIEL. 371 

promise and cast them into the furnace. We have no 
means of knowing- the degree of heat maintained in this 
fire. We are naturally prompted to think of a modern 
furnace glowing with burning coal, melted iron and 
cinders, in which animal life would not be maintained 
more than a few seconds. This is an entirely different 
thing from a Chaldean oven, of a temperature much below 
what modern scientific men have been able to endure for 
hours. However, the place was hot enough to be very 
uncomfortable for such as did not know how to fortify 
themselves against heat. Others had been put there 
before, and nothing is said of any deaths happening. 
Had such been the case some mention might have been 
expected; for the safety of these men is the only ground 
for supposing that the place was any wise dangerous. 
The warming was by the king's orders, and as he ardently 
desired to save the offenders, it is not fair to presume that 
there was any thing in the way of extra heat. The refrac- 
tory party, however, were cast into this fiery furnace, what- 
ever it was. Having a desire to know how it fared with 
them, an examination was made; and in addition to the 
three, a fourth was discovered who is represented in ap- 
pearance like the son of God.. We can not presume that 
Nebuchadnezzar had a correct knowledge how the son of 
God appeared, and hence this statement must be taken 
with proper allowance. Good men like these captives are 
always sustained in the day of trial, as they are comforted 
in the season of sorrow. The timidity of man and Ins 
lack of trust under trial, and distress and difficulty, casts a 

dark shadow over many a pathway. The stern resolve to 



372 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

do just what we believe right, is a glory no man can take 
away from the true child of God. No one, however, at 
that time or since was proof against fire, or could by 
means of faith alone save himself from the effect of tread- 
ing on melted iron and live coals. 

Chapter IV. Another dream is spoken of, and Daniel 
appears again as interpreter, after which the king under- 
takes to deliver a short lecture, and repeats his dream once 
more. He flatters Daniel, and Daniel in turn flatters the 
king. They try to be very polite to each other, but there 
is nothing fulsome or hyperbolical, indeed the lauguage is 
sometimes sublime. 

About Nebuchadnezzar's eating grass like an ox, nothing 
appears very certain. By the reading it would seem the 
king told this of himself, and that the real words he uttered 
about it, or the import of them, were handed down by the 
Hebrew historian. A story may be founded on fact in 
whole or in part, or may be made up from circumstances 
giving it plausibility. Most stories that come down to 
us from antiquity have a moral bearing and fix the mind 
upon the principle of beneficence, or rouse the conscience 
to pursue the path of duty. The loss of such writings 
would be regretted by all good men alike. After this hu- 
miliation of the king he seemed to show signs of piety, 
and his understanding returned. 

Chapter V. A sudden change comes up in the history, 
no less than the abrupt introduction of a new king, named 
Belshazzar, of whom nothing had been said before. He is 
thought to have been the son of Nebuchadnezzar, though 
of that the great historian Berosus does not seem to be sure 



DANIEL. 3^3 

The first leading act in this monarch's reign was the hold- 
ing of a grand banquet, common in that day to all great 
courts. On this occasion the feast had been prolonged, 
and in the dead hour of night the wildest revelry prevailed. 
When mirth run mad the king ordered the golden vessels, 
plundered from Jerusalem, to be brought forward, that he 
and his lords might drink therefrom to the health of their 
own gods. This direct defiance of Jehovah excited Daniel 
and other Jews present to intense indignation. Suddenly 
every eye was turned to witness the appearance of large 
characters plainly visible on the wall, so boldly drawn 
that the most intoxicated guests could not fail to see them. 
Consternation and horror instantly seized the drunken rev- 
elers. From the king to the humblest menial all trembled 
as they gazed. Daniel and his party alone were calm. 
They well knew how the writing came there — at least one 
of them did. Some may suppose the God of Israel wrote 
this startling inscription; if so, it must have been by the 
hand of His servant Daniel. None of the Chaldeans present 
could tell what the writing meant; hence the importance 
of taking immediate steps to interpret it, curse or blessing-. 
Plenty of those whose business it was to explain mysteries 
were easily obtained, but in vain. They seem to have 
been as much aghast as the king. He did not know that 
none but Daniel could by any possibility read the writing; 
for none other dared to make an explanation which might 
only provoke derision. Daniel was aware of this. 1 1 is 
plan was well conceived, and was sure to succeed. The 
soothsayers of Babylon proved to be wholly unable to meet. 
the emergency. Daniel, having before this obtained great 

k25 



374 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

notoriety as an unfolder of mysteries, it is singular that 
he was not summoned at once. Possibly the king hoped 
to gain entire satisfaction from those on whom he had 
always depended for the solution of dark sayings; or, it 
may be from feelings of pride as to inquiring of a foreigner 
and a captive. Getting no light on the subject from every 
other quarter, Daniel was finally asked for an explanation. 
After suitable preliminaries he reads and explains. Before 
doing this, Belshazzar is told how badly his father Nebuchad- 
nezzar had conducted himself, not omitting the story of his 
eating grass like an ox. Then Daniel reads: " Mene, mens, 
tekel, upharsin" and explains: Mene, God had numbered his 
kingdom and finished it; tekel, he was weighed in the bal- 
ance and found wanting; peres, his kingdom was divided 
and given to the Medes and Persians. This peres is a new 
word that had not appeared on the wall, or if it did is not 
named. As there is not a whisper about " upharsin," the 
substitution of an entirely different word is not so easy to 
explain. Does it not show that the whole was fixed to suit 
Daniel's purpose ? that this worst insult to Jehovah de- 
served this crushing rebuke, and that those who received 
it knew they were guilty without excuse ? The king had 
forgotten the obligation to respect the Jewish religion. 
His long continued sensuality had so blunted his moral 
sense that the heinousness of his crimes was not realized. 
Some lightning-flash had to come from a clear sky. Daniel 
hit on the proper plan; for how can we admit that writing- 
appeared on the wall then or at any other time without the 
aid of human hands ? The king took it all kindly, showing- 
how thoroughly he was humbled, and again talked loudly 



DANIEL. 375 

in Daniel's praise, setting him np as a most wonderful 
man, as indeed he was. The finest linen and costliest rai- 
ment were ordered for him, a gold chain put about his 
neck, and much else done to show the estimation in which 
he was held. Not only that, but Belshazzar made him the 
third ruler in the kingdom. This bestowal could have 
been but for 'a brief period; for, "that night," says the 
eloquent historian, was Belshazzar slain, and the dynasty 
was changed by conquest. 

Chapter VI. Directly after this feast of Belshazzar 
King Darius is introduced as constituting a kind of con- 
gress consisting of one hundred and twenty princes, of 
which Daniel is made the head. Thus we see that Daniel's 
good conduct and ability did not fail to be appreciated by 
Cyrus the Great as soon as he ascended the throne. Be- 
lieve much or little as we may of particular stories, the 
evidence is plain that Daniel had " an excellent spirit in 
him." His example in maintaining the right at all hazards 
will be commended by every good and true man. But his 
supreme exaltation excited a strong jealousy, and an early 
opportunity was sought for his overthrow. They induced 
Darius to make a decree, that whoever asked a petition 
of any god or man, except the king himself, should be 
cast into the den of lions; meaning, we may suppose, 
a place where lions were caged and from which escape 
was Considered impossible. Daniel had full knowledge of 
all that was being done, and made his calculation what 
course to take. Lions were considered dangerous then, 
doubtless, as they are now; but it was also known how to 
approach them with comparative safety, and in a measure 



376 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

hold their natural ferocity in abeyance. The ability to do 
this may not be attained by slight observation, nor with- 
out long study and imperial will; yet what we witness 
any day for a few shillings we cannot possibly esteem a 
miracle. When we see a Van Amburgh perform, no one 
pretends that God shuts those blood-thirsty mouths. And 
yet He does it now as much as He did then. Such weak 
superstitions have passed away and will return never 
more. The decree was passed by King Darius and made 
unalterable, like the laws of the Medes and Persians. 
Daniel's adversaries were delighted, flattering themselves 
that they were trampling their reprover under feet. The 
enemies of the Jews had studiously sought occasion 
against them that they might be driven out from office 
and honor in the empire. This feeling arose from noticing 
the superior capacity displayed by the puritanical stran- 
gers in every instance where opportunity offered. Beside 
that, their religion was irreconcilable with the image-wor- 
ship around them, and this religion was without any con- 
cealment or compromise. Like other good men, nothing 
would tempt Daniel to deviate from the path of duty. 
What his practice was in regard to private devotion is not 
certainly known; but after the decree Daniel was most 
careful to offer several daily prayers in his usually strong 
tone of voice; nor did he fail to leave his windows open. 
Such courage deserves the highest commendation. It 
seems the king regretted having made the decree, and at 
once set himself at work to save the most remarkable 
person in his court if possible. Every preparation they 
could both of them make that no harm should come to 



DANIEL. 37t 

Daniel was attended to. What they were, the account 
does not say; if it did the miracle part might drop out of 
the narrative. He came out from among the lions without 
being in the least harmed, as he certainly expected would 
be the case. 

Chapter VI. Near the close of this chapter we read 
that Darius wrote to all the nations, people and lan- 
guages that dwell in the whole earth, a decree that all 
should worship the God of Daniel. So extravagant a 
decree is not even conceivable. Its oppressive character 
is entirely unlike Cyrus. Neither did his jurisdiction 
extend at all so far; nor can any trace be found of his 
attempting to enforce such an arbitrary law in his own 
dominions. Is it not a Jewish exaggeration of the favor 
into which their religion had suddenly come ? Yet idol- 
worship received a severe check; many lost faith in it. 
Great good was done by the power and might of Daniel, 
and the true God was glorified. 

Chapter VII. Daniel had a dream or vision, during 
which he saw beasts, great beasts, eagles and lions; also 
rivers of fire, fiery sheets, and horns that talked. No 
wonder that the visions troubled him. Thrones were 
cast down and "the ancient of days did sit;" whose 
person Daniel tried to describe. This " ancient of days 1 ' is 
represented as sitting in judgment, yet as soon giving up 
that duty to the saints. What this meant some undertake 
to tell: nothing in the Bible is so obscure that those who 
call themselves God's ministers do not try to explain it. 
These stories about visions and wonders tend to foster a 
love of the marvelous. God be thanked that the time is 



378 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

fast passing away for reckoning sorcery, witchcraft and 
astrology as God's especial acts. Miracles are no more 
looked for, and will soon cease to be believed as in any 
wise annulling the laws of matter, or reversing the order 
of nature. Every where light is breaking in and driving 
away darkness. The true knowledge of God is spreading. 
Craft, subtlety and deception are getting into bad favor. 
One man's right to think for another is being more de- 
cidedly questioned and resolutely rejected day by day. 

Chapter IX. Daniel makes a long prayer, and exhorts 
the people in a dignified manner, saying that he saw the 
" man Gabriel," who we understand was the angel bearing 
that name. At verse 24, seventy weeks is fixed as the time 
when transgression should cease, everlasting righteous- 
ness be established, and the most Holy be anointed. 
" From the going forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem 
unto the Messiah the Prince shall be sixty-nine weeks: 
and, after three score and two weeks, the Messiah the 
Prince should be cut off." This could not mean the person 
called Jesus, because the end was to be " with a flood," 
and the people of this Prince were " to come and destroy 
the city and the sanctuary," certainly not the Christian 
people. This book of Daniel, like others written in regard 
to that particular period of Jewish history, is worthy of 
careful consideration as an exceptional book, placed by 
the Jews between Esther and Ezra, and as distinct from the 
other prophets as St. John's revelation is distinct from the 
Epistles which it follows. Even its Aramaic language 
marks a period of transition. 



HOSEA—JOEL. 3^9 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

MINOR PROPHETS. 
HOSEA. 

HOSEA'S prophecies relate to 800 B. 0., and twenty-five 
or more years later. He speaks of many things in a 
general way, and of others particularly. 

Judah, Israel, and the city of Jerusalem receive attention 
from all the prophets. Joel speaks especially of Judah. 
Among the great variety of subjects embraced in this book 
may be mentioned judgments, idolatry, adultery, repent- 
ance, Israel's ingratitude, God's displeasure, and best of 
all, reconciliation. These are repeated over and over again. 
As a favorable closing up, the promise is made that the 
Lord will ransom them all, heal all their backslidings, and 
be to them as the dew, and they should grow like the lily, 
and spread out their branches like the olive tree. So 
Ephraim should ask what more he had to do with idols. 
" For the ways of the Lord are right, and the prudent shall 
know them, and the just walk in them." 

JOEL. 

No one pretends to know the ago in which Joel lived, 



380 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

but it is probable he was cotemporary with Hosea. As to 
his life or death, no particulars have been handed down to 
us. His prophecies relate largely to the kingdom of Judah. 
He inveighs against the sins and infidelities of the people, 
threatens them with divine vengeance, and exhorts to 
repentance, fasting and prayer, in which case they should 
enjoy the favor of God. The Chaldean invasion, and the 
destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, are predicted. The 
style of Joel is to be admired for its eloquence. In some 
respects there is a similarity of expression among all who 
set themselves up as competent to speak in a prophetic 
way. There is much reason to think the prophetic books 
were all revised a long time after the periods to which 
they refer, and after the events supposed to have been pre- 
dicted had happened. 

Joel gives one new command: To beat their plowshares 
into swords, and their pruning hooks into spears, as the 
day of the Lord was near, when the sun and moon should 
be darkened and the stars withdraw their shining, and all 
should know that God dwelt in the mountain of Zion. Had 
the sun and moon at any time subsequent to Joel's writing 
been darkened, an event so wonderful would have come 
down to us through channels independent of Jewish history; 
that is, if it were any thing more than what is talked of 
now with as little concern as the sun's rising and sitting. 
An effort is plainly discernible in all prophetic writings to 
excite and alarm the people, and save them from ever 
increasing corruption. An eclipse of the sun or moon was 
well understood and properly accounted for by but few; 
while great bodies stood ready to use any celestial pheno- 



AMOS. 381 

mena for the oppression of the ignorant and credulous 
mass. 



AMOS. 

This book relates to events following the year 800 B. C. 
The author was not a regularly educated prophet, but 
came forth at the prompting of God from tending sheep 
and dressing trees. His rustic speech and country taste 
cling to him to the last. His ministry must have taken 
place about the middle of Jeroboam's reign, for he speaks 
of the completion of his conquests; while the Assyrians, 
who afterwards harassed Israel, had not then given an 
alarm. This period was one calling for a prophetic voice. 
Rapidly advancing in wealth, power, ease, and self-confi- 
dence, Israel was equally advancing in luxury, idolatry, and 
oppression of the poor. Calf-worship was especially prac- 
ticed at Beth-el, also at Gilgal, Dan and Beersheba; the rites 
even of Astarte were tolerated in Samaria; and, as an evi- 
dence of the way in which the priests protected idolatry 
from the denunciation of the prophet, the high-priest pro- 
cured an order from Jeroboam driving Amos out of Israel — 
a most honorable exile. We give the whole of this passage 
at arms, for it shows the contrasted nature of the two 
men, one warning the people against the consequences 
of apostasy and profligacy — the other silencing the warn- 
ing voice in exile or deatli by the authority of the king: 
"Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam 
king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against 
thee in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not 
able to bear all his words. For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam 



382 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away 
captive out of their own land. Also, Amaziah said unto 
Amos, thou seer, go flee thee away into the land of 
Judah, and there eat bread and prophesy there: But 
prophesy not again any more at Beth-el ; for it is the king's 
chapel, and it is the king's court. Then answered Amos, 
and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a 
prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of 
sycamore fruit; and the Lord took me as I followed the 
flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my 
people Israel. Now, there f'oro, hear thou the word of the 
Lord: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop 
not thy word against the house of Isaac. Therefore thus 
saith the Lord: Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, 
and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, 
and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die 
in a polluted land ; and Israel shall surely go into captivity 
forth of his land.'' — vii, 10, If. 

Of the earthquake mentioned in the first verse of the 
first chapter, we do not find any trace in Jewish annals; 
but at that time such things were not commonly recorded; 
as, long after, a few lines exhaust the subject of eclipses in 
Pliny's natural history. 

The prediction of the death of Jeroboam II by the sword 
was not fulfilled, as he died a natural death. — (II Kings, 
xiv, 29). Neither have we any account of a flood corres- 
ponding to the eighth verse of chapter eight; but, there 
were eclipses in Palestine that year more than fulfilling 
the prophecy in the next verse: "I will cause the sun to 
£0 down at noon and will darken the earth in the clear 



OBADIAH. 383 

day." Certainly, in the lig'ht of modern history, the 
prophecy in the ninth verse of the ninth chapter is perfectly 
wonderful: " I will sift the house of Israel among all nations 
as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall 
upon the earth!" The book closes with a promise of the 
restoration of the Jews to the land of promise which is 
repeated in the fifteenth chapter of Acts, and which has 
done very much to keep alive to our day this fearfully 
persecuted race without a temple, without a country, with- 
out a home, without a resting place for the soles of their 
feet: "And I will bring again the captivity of my people 
of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit 
them ; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine 
thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of 
them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they 
shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have 
given them, saith the Lord thy God." 



OBADIAH. 

Obadiah is believed to have prophesied about 588 B. C; 
but, the learned are not agreed; it was evidently a period 
when public distress prompted fearful forebodings; when 
indeed many persons of a poetical nature occupied them- 
selves with gloomy visions of the future. Obadiah, how- 
ever, is chiefly a denunciation of Edom melting into a 
prophecy of the future glory of Zion. It compares well 
with cotemporary sayings by Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and 
the 127th psalm. 

The question of the fulfillment of the promise that "the 
house of Esau shall be for stubble and there shall not be 



384 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

any remaining; they of the South shall possess the mount 
of Esau," can be answered only in part. Nebuchadnezzar 
subdued the country in 583 B. C. John Hyrcanus more 
fully, yet not perfectly, reduced Idumea, when their nation- 
ality became extinct by their adoption of Jewish rites. 

The only curious thing about this brief prophecy, a 
principal favorite with the modern Jews, is that, under- 
standing Rome by Edom, they believe that the triumph of 
Judaism over Christianity is surely foretold by Obadiah. 
Abarbanel asserts that all Christians are comprised in the 
name Idumeans; that they will go up to lay waste Jeru- 
salem which is the seat of holiness; that those Jews who 
have gone as exiles into the Edomites' land will deserve to 
have "the best part of their country, and their metropolis 
at Mount Seir" — when "saviors shall come up on Mount 
Zion to judge the mount of Esau, and the kingdom shall 
be Jehovah's." 



JONAH. 

Jonah assumed the prophetic office about 840 B. C. with 
strong expectation of winning his way to fame, but soon 
found himself in trouble. As a pioneer in that difficult 
business, he possibly did as well as many others would. 
Light had at that date been but little diffused, and was not 
until the schools for the education of prophets were estab- 
lished by Samuel. They soon learned to be more guarded 
in their sayings. In the first place, it was a crazy notion 
in Jonah's head to think that the Lord had any idea of 
destroying Nineveh in forty days from the time of his 
prediction. It was not exactly what might be called nerve 



JONAH. 385 

that enabled him to make the statement he did; it was 
more like foolhardiness. The one who wrote the story got 
out of it ingeniously. Jonah started full of hope, took ship 
at Joppa bound for Tarshish, was thrown into the sea 
during a tempest, swallowed by a whale and went down 
into its belly. 

The Ninevites were far from being the worst people on 
the earth, though so bad that they were easily frightened, 
and inclined to think that their destruction might be a just 
enough punishment for their wicked acts. Through fear of 
the fulfillment of Jonah's prediction, the king and all his sub- 
jects, from the highest to the lowest, made a mere outside 
show of repentance. We say outside show, for the reason 
that no repentance that comes through fear is any thing 
but mockery; it is action from necessity, not choice. The 
people of the threatened city adopted all the outward forms 
of repentance common in that day; and, as we are told in 
the story, the Lord looked upon them with compassion, and 
regretted that Jonah had told them what he did, and con- 
cluded that the city had better stand as it was a while longer. 
So Jonah found the city was in no danger of being 
destroyed, and that he, instead of having his name heralded 
over the whole earth as a true prophet, to be feared and 
respected by the great cities every where — must skulk 
away out of men's sight to escape; reproof and shame. 
TJis grief was must intense; really he suffered mure agony 
than when in the whale's belly — if he was ever there. So 
he desired the Lord to take away the life that had become 

a burden. 

Wishing to avoid observation as much as possible, Jonah 



386 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

passed out of the city, where he found no shelter from the 
scorching rays of the sun, and constructed a kind of 
booth, over which a gourd is represented as growing at a 
rapid rate — so rapid that it did not long resist the sun's 
heat but soon withered away. This grieved Jonah sorely, 
and opened the wa}^ for the Lord to reason with him by 
speaking of his grief at the loss of the gourd, compara- 
tively of so little importance; and reminding him that 
the destruction of a great city like Nineveh, containing so 
many people "and also much cattle," was a larger matter 
for him to consider. To this we do not hear of Jonah's 
making any reply; nor do we hear any thing more of him 
at all; but the story remains as interesting as ever, and a 
warning that it is wrong to complain of the mercy of God 
vouchsafed to the children of men, just because it lessens 
our influence and standing. 



MICAH. 

Micah prophesied nearly through the half century be- 
ginning with 750 B. C, and was therefore cotemporary 
with Isaiah, whom he somewhat resembles in his exalted 
morality, his clearness of expression and occasional sub- 
limity. William Smith's Bible Dictionary suggests that 
the difference of time between Jeremiah's dictating his 
prophecies to Baruch and their publication on the fast-day 
to the people, (Jeremiah xxxvi), would explain any dis- 
agreement as to Micah's period; his word may have been 
spoken during Jotham and Ahaz and not committed to writ- 
ing till the reign of Hezekiah. Many of the references clear- 
ly belong to the darker times preceding this devout king. 



MICAH-NAHUM. 387 

The general tenor of the seven chapters is a warning 
against the corruption, violence, idolatry and false proph- 
esying of the twins, carried on in a dialogue form with 
peculiar spirit. In the ninth chapter is one of the decla- 
rations of universal morality which have become immortal. 
The prophet first asks, as if to excite attention to his 
reply, "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow 
myself before the high God ? shall I give my first born for 
my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my 
soul ?" (the same parallelism which marks all the sacred 
poetry of the Bible). Then comes the magnificent answer, 
"He hath shewed thee, man, what is good: and what 
doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, love mercy, 
and walk humbly with thy God !" 

There is a supposed prophecy of Jesus in the fifth chap- 
ter: "Thou Bethlehem Ephratah ! out of thee shall he 
come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings 
forth have been from everlasting." But Jesus certainly 
never became a ruler in Israel; and we cannot understand 
how His goings have been from everlasting: nor should we 
know what to make of the fourth verse in this application, 
"He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord:" but 
the fifth verse completes the refutation: "And this man 
shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our 
land." Every honest person must admit that our Saviour 
had never anything to do with the Assyrians, their empire 
having been destroyed many centuries before his birth. 



NAHUM. 

The bonk of Natural, written we ean not exactly tell 



388 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

when or where, probably about the fourteenth year of 
King Hezekiah, begins by saying that God is jealous and 
furious: that the Lord will take vengeance on his adver- 
saries, etc., which we do not believe. One can not read 
the epistles of John and then believe in this raging Deity, 
jealous of his glory, and chiefly concerned in destroying 
his enemies. 

It is agreed pretty generally that this " burden of Nine- 
vah" was uttered before the city, whose merchants were 
multiplied above the stars of heaven, was destroyed; but 
Ewald, the great German scholar, believes it was then 
threatened from without. The prophet sees the city in its 
grandeur and its ruin; his expressions of each are wonder- 
fully bold and far beyond what could have been realized 
in fact. " Because of the multitude of her whoredoms" 
she was to be devoured with the fire, cut off with the 
sword and eaten up by the cankerworm; poetical forms 
for expressing the utter desolation which has befallen her 
in these latter days, when nothing but vast heaps of ruin 
mark the site of one of the proudest cities of the earth. 

For grandeur of expression and variety of imagery few 
Hebrew prophets stand above Nahum; and those who 
read him in the original find a great deal to admire in his 
forcible style and sonorous diction, especially in his ac- 
count of the siege and destruction of the guilty city. 

HABAKKUK. 

There has been a dispute among scholars as to the date 
of this prophet, and the weight of opinion rests upon a 
period more than six centuries before Christ, as many 



HABAKKUK. 389 

passages have been borrowed from him by Jeremiah. A 
curious Rabbinical story represents him as that child of 
the Shunamite whom Elisha restored to life; because of a 
resemblance of name. Another unfounded legend is that he 
was the sentinel set by Isaiah to watch for the destruction 
of Babylon. Still a third legend is given in the Apocrypha 
of his carrying food to Daniel in the lions' den. He seems to 
have prophesied very much in vain, but not certainly with- 
out giving to the Church many of those stirring words it 
can never lose from the voices of the soul. His noble 
prayer Dr. Franklin is said to have read in a social circle 
at Paris, where it was received with immense applause 
until its source was discovered. We give it below: 

"A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth: 
"0 Lord, I have heard thy speech and was afraid: Lord, 
revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of 
the years make known; in wrath remember mercy. God 
came from Tern an, and the Holy One from mount Paran. 
Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was 
full of his praise. And hie brightness was as the light; 
he had horns coming out of Ins hand; and there was the 
hiding of his power. Before him went the pestilence, and 
burning coals wont forth at his feet. He stood, and mea- 
sured the earth; ho beheld, and drove asunder the nations; 
and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpet- 
ual hills did bow: his ways arc everlasting. I saw the 
touts of Cushan in affliction: and the curtains of the land 
of Midian did tremble. Was the Lord displeased against 
the rivers? was thine anger againsl the rivers? was thy 
wrath against tin- sea, that thou didst ride ii|>«»n thine 

b26 



390 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

horses, and thy chariots of salvation? Thy bow was made 
quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy 
word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers. 
The mountains saw thee, and they trembled; the overflow- 
ing of the water passed by; the deep uttered his voice, 
and lifted up his hands on high. The sun and moon stood 
still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they 
went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear. Thou 
didst march through the land in indignation, thou didst 
thresh the heathen in anger. Thou wentest forth for the 
salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine 
anointed ; thou woundedst the head out of the house of 
the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. 
Selah. 

" Thou didst strike through with his staves the head 
of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter 
me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly. 
Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through 
the heap of great waters. When I heard, my belly trem- 
bled; my lips quivered at the voice; rottenness entered 
into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest 
in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, 
he will invade them with his troops. Although the fig tree 
shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the 
labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no 
meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there 
shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, 
I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is 
my strength, and lie will make ni} r feet like hinds' feet, and 
he will make me to walk upon mine high places." 



ZEPHANIAH—HAGGAI. 391 

ZEPHANIAH. 

This prophet's discourse is fixed by the book itself in 
the reign of Josiah, which lasted from 642 to 611 B. C. 
He begins with severe threatenings, declaring that the 
Lord will utterly consume all things from the land; espe- 
cially that he will cut off the remnant of Baal, and them 
that are turned back from the Lord. Destruction, he prom- 
ised, should include man and beast, the fowls of heaven, 
and the fishes of the sea. Jerusalem itself is not spared. 
Its moral condition is represented in the darkest colors — 
her princes are roaring lions, her judges cunning wolves, 
her prophets light and treacherous, her priests have pol- 
luted the sanctuary. And yet without any evidence of 
repentance, the prophet closes with assurances of joy and 
blessing, and the promise that they should be made a name 
and a praise among all the people of the earth. 

The Scythians were then devastating portions of Pal- 
estine, and the sufferings they inflicted were followed by a 
reformation, recorded in the second book of Chronicles 
just before the death of the excellent king- Josiah; whose 
last paseover is said (in tones of childlike exaggeration) 
to have surpassed any that the kings of Israel had ever 
kept; but, no such sweeping destruction as is menaced in 
the beginning of this prophecy, can be traced either in 
sacred or profane history. 



HAGGAI. 

This booh may have been written 520 B. 0. Of Haggai 
but little is known with certainty. He is supposed to have 
been born at Babylon; of his death nothing is said; Jeru« 



392 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

salem was probabty the place of his burial. The work of 
rebuilding the temple at Jerusalem progressed slowly, and 
after being interrupted for fourteen years, was completed 
516 B. C. Quite evident it is that the Jews were sincere 
in their unbounded regard for Jerusalem, and believed God 
was there more emphatically than in any other place on 
the earth. High respect for " the great city," " the sacred 
city," will never cease; but as a central point of worship, 
its time has passed away never to return. Now not only at 
Jerusalem, but in every place incense may be offered, and 
an acceptable offering, as it was foretold would be the case. 
This prophet is so exceedingly prosaic that many have 
supposed his words were merely the outline of his actual 
addresses; for he seems to have led the people forward to 
the accomplishment of their great work with remarkable 
success — cheering them at last with this promise, which is 
commonly referred to the Messiah: " The glory of the latter 
house shall be greater than the former; and in this place I 
will give peace saith the Lord of Hosts." 



ZECHARIAH. 

This prophet is cotemporaneous with Haggai, in the 
first part of his work, from 520 to 570; and like him di- 
rected all his energies to the building of the second temple. 
The foundations had been laid during the reign of Cyrus, 
yet the jealousies of the Samaritans had obstructed the 
enterprise during the succeeding sovereigns. But now 
Darius Hystaspes sat on the throne, a generous prince, es- 
pecially favorable to the Jews, so that the prophets were 
encouraged to push forward in the pious enterprise. The 



ZECHA RIAH—MALA CHI. 393 

fear now was not of priestly formalism, but of letting- the 
outward service go to decay. So that Zechariah, who 
united to a prophet's zeal the traditions of a priestly fam- 
ily, being always known as the son of Iddo the priest, 
was specially adapted to completing what had been so 
nobly begun, and afterwards to the providing liturgical 
services with the assistance of Haggai. 

Bishop Mede and Archbishop Newcome were the first to 
insist that the chapters from the 9th to the 14th were by 
some other prophet; not only because of the entire differ- 
ence of style, but because of a complete change of sub- 
ject. The great critics declare that the latter chapters are 
as poetic, glowing, weighty, magnificent in imagery as the 
former portion is prosaic and poor. The learned Bunsen 
even pronounces it one of the triumphs of modern criti- 
cism that the last six chapters are referred to two distinct 
prophets. But certainly the prediction that "Jerusalem 
would be a cup of trembling unto all the people round 
about," and " that there should be a great mourning there 
as the mourning in the valley of Megiddon," could never 
have been spoken to cheer the returned exiles in restoring 
the house of God to its ancient glory. But this opens a 
matter of Hebrew criticism far beyond our grasp. 



MALACHI. 

The date of this prophet, about 440 B. C, is confirmed 
by many references in his cotemporary Nehemiah, by the 
fact of his never alluding to the restoration of the temple, 
nor to the captivity. His scorching rebukes of the priest- 
hood, especially of their marrying foreign wives, corre- 



394 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

spond with the actual abuses Nehemiah contended against, 
when the high-priest's alliances with the Ammonite and 
Horonite had caused the temple to be deserted and the 
Sabbath to be profaned. Malachi held the same rela- 
tion to Nehemiah's reform movement which Isaiah held to 
Hezekiah's and Jeremiah to Josiah's. He dared to say- 
that on account of the priests' corruption the Lord would 
curse their blessings: their children should be profligate; 
and the dung of their solemn fasts should be sprinkled in 
their faces. Because they had not paid tithes they had 
robbed God. Therefore the time should come when they 
would burn like an oven, and the proud man be con- 
sumed as stubble. But unto them that feared the 
Lord's name the sun of righteousness should rise with 
healing in his wings. Before this happened Elijah was to 
come. As this last sentence is thought to refer to Jesus, 
it may be remarked that Elijah had not reappeared at the 
birth of Jesus, and that the Jews are expecting him still. 
As this closes the prophetic writings, as well as the canon of 
the Old Testament, it has given to Malachi the title of 
the Seal. 



THE JEWS AND JERUSALEM. 395 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

THE JEWS AND JERUSALEM. 

~VTO nation has ever shown more respect for religion, or 
I] greater zeal towards God, than the Jews. They loved 
their national capital, loved its temple, loved its grand festi- 
vals. And their worship did every thing for them in return. 
Even in Solomon's golden age their dominion was alto- 
gether limited — their foreign power insignificant compared 
with the border monarchies that were by and by to crush 
them in the dust. Shut up, as Dr. Hedge says, in a narrow 
territory, with a land-locked capital, with little commerce 
and less art, they were destined to make no figure in the 
world's history. Yet, compare them with the mighty 
Roman whose legions subdued the earth, or the gifted 
Greek who gave us the very highest art, and the less 
favored Hebrew eclipsed them entirely by bestowing upon 
the world the infinite blessing of a humanizing, elevating, 
cheering, redeeming faith. Grecian art and Roman juris- 
prudence, wonderful as they were, could not save society. 
But, when the ancient world seemed death-stricken, then 
from the depth of the inner life in a prophet of this most 
devout race God's spirit brooded anew on the face of the 



396 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

earth, reviving faith, renewing the soul. Even as an agent 
in worthily occupying the habitable earth, Christianity, 
Dr. Hedge shows, surpasses all others — and Christianity 
was born of Jewish parents, was cradled in Jewish con- 
venticles, was carried from Jerusalem to the ends of the 
earth on Jewish feet! Our very reverence, then, for the 
Christian system, ought to make us view its ancient mother 
with profound regard. We ought not to expect the views 
which commend themselves to the maturity of mankind, to 
interest equally its infancy. Unfounded opinions may be 
embraced in the childhood of the race which would be false 
to us now-^-such as the attributing of our passions to Deity; 
yet, which were once the only way they could at all get at 
His being. Not to feel as they did, was, in their minds, 
not to feel at all. So that we are not to try them by oar 
light, nor condemn them for the want of our opportunities. 
The one talent was not expected to do as much as the ten ; 
nor could it have done so, had it tried. When reason is 
cramped and inquiry stifled, the people have to remain igno- 
rant; and God will not condemn that ignorance which His 
providence perpetuates. For something like four hundred 
years the government of the Jews was purely theocratic; 
and after the deliverance from Egyptian bondage it still 
bore that character. The few held despotic sway over the 
many, inducing- them to believe that they were the exclu- 
sive oracles of God and the irresistible executors of His 
will. The feeling — universal then — that rulers have a 
divine right to rule, has not yet died out of the world, nor 
is it likely to die. 

Whenever the Jews lacked power to punish their enemies, 



THE JEWS AND JERUSALEM. 397 

their Jehovah was ready to step in and defeat the Philistine 
plans or sweep away the Philistine hosts. Hail-storms 
and earthquakes were sent, when they would serve a better 
purpose than drying up rivers and giving a path through 
seas. All things that could benefit them, as well as all 
afflictions, came through divine agency. Nor is this view 
of a minute providence obsolete; because, all over Christen- 
dom these ancient records are read, studied and believed as 
the very word of God. 

Properly enough we can say that the Jews were like 
other men who have dwelt upon the earth under similar 
circumstances. All men make up their opinions very much 
under the influence of their surroundings. When people 
make the remark that they would not have done thus or so 
under such circumstances, they do not realize fully what 
they say. Placed in the same relations, with the same 
natural tendencies, men are likely to pursue the same course 
others have taken before them. The weaknesses of human- 
ity will betray themselves sooner or later. But, should we 
look back on the past so much to condemn error as to detect 
" the soul of goodness in things evil?" so much to spy out 
weakness as to see how humanity advances even through 
failure? If the grand purpose? of the Jews was to main- 
tain and transmit the knowledge and worship of God, and 
if they fulfilled that mission wonderfully, taking every 
thing into view, then a vast deal of human weakness can 
be forgiven them. 

The three principal religious sects among the Jews, for 
near two centuries before our era, were the Pharisees, the 
Saddmves, and the Kssenos. The Sadducees were most 



398 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

conspicuous from the Maccabean period to the destruction 
of Jerusalem. Nothing has been finally settled as yet 
about the original meaning of the term. The most prob- 
able theory is that the name is taken from Zadok, the high 
priest of the lineage of Aaron. After the exile, when the 
functions of royalty could not be exercised, the interest of 
the people centered in the Hierarchy; and the secular as 
well as the spiritual power was wielded by the hereditary 
chief of the priesthood, who was not only pontiff but gov- 
ernor. The priests and most distinguished families consti- 
tuted -his court and senate. These were the aristocracy; 
and to them all was applied the name Sadducees, which at 
first had been used to denote only the proper descendants 
of Zadok, as some believe; and there is strong probability 
of the correctness of this view. Josephus mentions them 
as existing along with the Pharisees and Essenes in the 
time of Jonathan, who succeeded Judas Maccabees, 150 B.C. 
He says they contended that all our actions are in our own 
power, so that we ourselves are the cause of what is good; 
and, that evil is the consequence of our own folly. The Sad- 
ducees acknowledged the authority of the written law alone, 
and rejected all traditions. The wealthy belonged to this 
party, while the multitude went with the Pharisees. John 
Hyrcanus, having had a controversy, changed his faith and 
joined the Sadducees 108 B. C. Josephus also declares that 
the Sadducees believe the souls of men die with their bodies. 
The sect was small compared with that of the Pharisees. 
But, taking into view what other writers allege, there is 
great doubt as to their particular belief, as they have left 
no statement of their own opinions. Certainly, punishment 



THE JEWS AND JERUSALEM. 399 

after death formed no part of their creed; nor did they 
believe in future rewards for any thing done in this life. 
Their manners were more courteous, and their conduct 
more kindly than the Pharisees, who were self-righteous 
and bigoted to a proverb. 

There is the utmost difficulty in obtaining correct infor- 
mation as to the peculiarities and true positions of the 
religious divisions of the Jews at the dawn of Christianity. 
John the Baptist's knowledge to some extent of the Sad- 
ducee faith is shown, when they applied to him to administer 
his particular rite, by his alluding to the wrath to come, in 
which they did not believe. 

The name of Sadducee — though spoken of briefly in 
Matthew's gospel — is not mentioned in John's. Mark and 
Luke only use it on one occasion — in regard to a woman 
who died after having seven husbands; when the question 
was asked by them of Jesus: " Whose wife shall she be in 
the resurrection ?" The Sadducees sought the company of 
Jesus but little; though they took some part in the council 
which condemned him. As a sect they did not survive the 
destruction of Jerusalem; while the Pharisees were able 
to hand down their peculiar tenets to posterity, the oral 
law being expressly given in the Mishna and (along with 
many other traditions) in the two Gemaras. 

The Karaites, a Jewish sect that came into notice during 
the eighth century, probably sprang from the defunct sect 
of the Sadducees. 

Pharisees: In the time; of Autioehus Epiphanes, a party 
of the Jewish nation wished to adopt the heathen ordi- 
nances, and obtained the royal license for a change. They 



400 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

avoided circumcision, thus forsaking the ancient covenant. 
Strong ground was naturally taken by many of the Jews 
against the Hellenizing policy of this party and the heathen- 
izing influence of the king. Many in Israel were fully 
resolved not to eat any unclean thing; and rather to die 
than to profane the covenant by being defiled with meats. 
The first naming of the Pharisee was in the time of Jona- 
than the high priest, 145 B. C. They are described as one 
of the three sects among the Jewish schools, along with 
the Essenes and the Sadducees. The feelings and prac- 
tices which brought about this distinct belief, must have 
been in operation some time before. The origin of Phari- 
saism it is thought may be traced back to the period of 
the return from Babylonish captivity. At the age of sixteen 
Josephus set himself zealously at work to master the tenets 
of these three great religious schools, pursuing the subject 
for three years. He says that the Pharisees resembled the 
Stoic school of the Greeks. 

The Pharisees were extremely accurate and minute with 
regard to all the customs received from the fathers. Nor 
was this confined to matters laid down in the Scriptures. 
They had respect to the traditions as well, and sometimes 
more. They held that the written law required an oral 
tradition to explain and guard it, to secure obedience and 
prevent transgression. Of these traditions the Mishna 
(compiled about the second century) contains a copious 
account. The strict Pharisee " tithes whatever he eats, 
whatever he sells, whatever he buys; and does not eat or 
drink with the people of the land." They held that the 
relation between man and his maker was dependent on the 



THE JEWS AND JERUSALEM. 401 

decrees of an overruling providence; and that human 
agency was a blending together of good and evil under a 
supreme destiny. They held to a future state of retribu- 
tion, and the indestructibilit} 7 of the soul: that the soul of 
the good man passes into another body, while the soul of 
the bad man goes to eternal punishment. Such is a brief 
account of the Pharisees derived from Josephus; but it 
must be remembered that he was himself one of them, 
and desired to have his party appear in the most favorable 
light. Hillel and Shammai were also distinguished men 
among the Pharisees. In time the better spirit that ani- 
mated this sect was lost, giving place in their decline to 
a hateful spirit of formalism. We must not overlook the 
fact that Jesus himself distinctly recognizes the Pharisees 
as teachers, and successors to Moses. They held the truth 
in certain important articles, such as belief in the invisible 
world, the resurrection of the dead, the system of angels 
and spirits. Paul, when brought before the council, pro- 
fessed himself to be a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; a 
statement which he repeats in effect at various times, as 
if it entitled him to special regard. Although the spirit 
of their schools led them to reject the testimony of both 
John and Jesus, they were early inquiring about the 
mission of the Baptist; and some like Nicodemus were 
disposed to give the new heresy a fair hearing. They also 
took part in the burial of Jesus. Gamaliel was among 
the well disposed of the Pharisees, who gave excellent 

counsel as to the disposition to be made of their victim. 
They had much to do with fasting, and aimed to maintain a 
high religious character, but their system was all hollow; its 



402 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

beauty was merely that of a Sodom apple. Self-righteous- 
ness and pride were prominent features with the great 
majority. Many rebukes were thundered upon them from 
the lips of Jesus on different occasions. He told his dis- 
ciples and the people to whom he was speaking, " except 
their righteousness exceeded that of the scribes and Phar- 
isees, they should in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven." 
Feelings of bitter hostility were soon stirred up against 
Jesus on account of denunciations like these. Why should 
it be otherwise with such a bigoted sect occupying the 
highest places in the national council ? They resolved 
therefore to embrace the first opportunity to be rid of 
their reprover. To vex him with captious questions seemed 
their constant endeavor. Whatever may have been their 
pretensions they had not a spark of good will. Finally 
making an unholy compact with Judas, their wicked 
purpose was carried into effect; and their success was 
their ruin. That a system (so firmly fixed in the mind and 
heart of the Jewish people), should have survived the tran- 
sition from Judaism to Christianity is not surprising. The 
first point of doctrine raised against the Apostolic church 
was by the Pharisees. 

The Essenes are a very ancient sect of the Jews which 
existed in Syria, Egypt, and the neighboring countries. 
They contended that religion consisted wholly in contem- 
plation and silence. Some of them passed their lives in 
celibacy; others entered into family relations. They be- 
lieved in man's ability to appease the wrath of Deity by 
sacrifices, though in a form different from that of ordinary 
Jews. They looked upon the law of Moses as an allego- 



THE JEWS AND JERUSALEM. 403 

rical system of spiritual and mysterious truths, and re- 
nounced in its explanation all regard for the outward 
letter. Josephus, Philo, and Pliny each give an account 
of them. 

Scribe is a name signifying writer or secretary: they 
were the men by whom the Old Testament scriptures were 
written in their present form and limited to their present 
numbers. The seventy years of the captivity gave pecu- 
liar glory to the profession. The exiles were naturally 
anxious to preserve all the sacred books of the past; and 
with Ezra at their head they transcribed the Hebrew doc- 
uments accurately, explained what was obscure, and did 
their utmost to make the Law the groundwork of the 
people's life. In the eyes of the Persian king, Ezra was 
more than priest in being " a scribe of the law of the God 
of heaven." Hillel was the most distinguished member of 
their body, which absorbing nearly all the energy and 
thought of Judaism claimed to itself the highest honors, 
exalted the letter above the spirit of religion, sank into 
incurable hypocrisy and indulged in shameful luxury. 
Prom them proceeded the party of zealots. 

Jerusalem. The meaning of this word is now ad- 
mitted to signify the habitation of peace, the city of peace, 
or the vision of peace. It was known as Salem in the time 
of Melchizedek, and is so called in the Psalms. Isaiah calls 
it Ariel. In the days of Joshua and the Judges its name 
was Jebus, or the city of the Jebusite, and continued jo 
be so called down to its capture by David. It has also 
been termed the city of David, the city of Judah, the holy 
Gity, the city of God. To this day its oriental title is El- 



404 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

kuds, " the holy." Passing over much of the history of 
Jerusalem that might be noticed, we come to the time of 
Antiochus Epiphanes about 1T0 B. C, when he became in- 
censed at the Jews, and went against Jerusalem and mur- 
dered forty thousand; about two years after he pillaged 
the cities of Judea, put the men to death and sold the 
women and children as slaves. The high-priest Mattath- 
ias, with his sons Judas, Jonathan and Simon, who were 
called Maccabees, fought bravely for their country and 
liberty. Judas succeeded his father, B. C. 164; regained 
the temple, repairing and dedicating it anew. After the 
death of Judas his two sons succeeded him in turn. Jon- 
nas entered upon the high-priesthood about a century 
before the birth of Jesus, and subdued Philistia, Moab, 
Ammon, Gilead, and part of Arabia. Under these three 
reigns alone were the Jews independent after the great 
captivity. Jerusalem was besieged by Pompey and taken 
B. C. 56. The Jewish title was partially lost with the in- 
dependence of the nation, B. C. 42. Two years after- 
wards Herod was made king of Judea; and Jerusalem 
was taken by him after a siege of one year. Many other 
trivial circumstances crowd the pages of its history, of 
interest only to the Jews of that day; but disturbances, 
trials, vexations, oppressions and calamities hardly ceased 
at any time. At Cesarea, for instance, twenty thousand 
Jews were killed by the Assyrians, and twenty thousand 
who were unarmed perished in a massacre at Damascus. 
At Bethshan the heathen inhabitants obliged their Jewish 
neighbors to assist them in fighting their own brethren, 
and then murdered thirteen thousand of them. At Alex- 



THE JEWS AND JERUSALEM. 405 

andria the Jews retaliated by murdering fifty thousand 
Gentiles. Famine, rapine, murder, pestilence, fire and sword 
with all the other horrors of war followed each other, often 
in quick succession. From B. C. 32 the Roman power was 
so extensive they had control literally of the known world. 
Their entire army was nearly half a million: divided into 
thirty legions, five of which were stationed on the Danube, 
five on the Rhine, three in Great Britain, one in Spain, 
eight on the Euphrates, two in Africa, with twenty thou- 
sand Pretorian-guards in Italy. As the " mistress of the 
world " governed by force not affection, this shows pretty 
well the extent of her real dominion. Her fleet corre- 
sponded: we find them in the British Channel, in the Black 
Sea, on the Danube and the Rhine, and at three Mediterra- 
nean ports. The population was roughly computed at one 
hundred and twenty million, half of them slaves. There 
were forty million of tributaries and freedmen, with barely 
twenty million enjoying the full rights of Roman citizen- 
ship. But to return to the " peculiar people." Of all the 
severe trials through which they were compelled to pass 
by the inexorable justice of providence, none equaled in 
severity what the Jews endured at the great siege and 
destruction, when Jerusalem was taken and laid waste by 
Titus. While the passover was being held, and the city 
full to overflowing with nearly three millions of* people, 
the Roman armies surrounded them, guarding the trenches 

and walls so closely as to render eseape impossible. In 
the meantime, the three different factions info which the 
city was divided kept up a constant warfare with each 

otlur until the whole became one confused scene of iimr- 



406 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

der. Titus is said not to have been unmindful of their 
sufferings, and to have urged a peaceful surrender, as they 
were entirely in his power. Favorable terms were again 
and again offered, but every proposal was met with scorn 
and derision. Death was all the time doing its work to such 
an extent that the unburied corpses formed a mass of pu- 
trefaction, corrupted the air, and caused a wide-spread 
pestilence. The scarcity of food even forced the people to 
feed on each other. Women were said to have broiled 
their own babes. The terrible anecdote is given of rob- 
bers clamoring for food at the house of Mary, daughter of 
Eleazer, a high-born lady of Verea. She put before them 
the roasted body of her infant son. " This is mine own 
son," she screamed; "eat this food, for I have eaten it 
myself." Wolves though they were in human form, they 
fled in horror from the wretched house. After a siege of 
six months the city was taken and the besieging army let 
loose upon the Jews, who, being literally helpless, were 
murdered by wholesale. It was the carnival of outrage. 
Titus would fain have saved the temple, but could not. 
Six thousand Jews who had taken shelter within its vast 
walls were burned or murdered. Amidst all this distress, 
the unavailing cries of this deluded and horror-stricken 
people were dreadful. The whole city, except three towers 
and a portion of the wall, was razed to the ground, and in 
many places the foundations of the temple torn up. After 
the forts of Herod i an and Macheron were taken, the gar- 
rison of Masada murdered themselves rather than surrender. 
At Jerusalem alone one million and one hundred thousand 
perished in one way or another. In places out of the city 



THE JEWS AND JERUSALEM. 40T 

not less than fifty thousand were cut off, and vast numbers 
besides were sent in bondage to Egypt. This destruction 
happened A. D. 70 to 71. Sixty years afterwards one Bar- 
choceba pretended that lie was the Messiah, raised a Jewish 
army of two hundred thousand, and murdered all who 
came in his way, Jews as well as heathen and Christians; 
but was finally subdued by the army of Adrian. In this 
war alone sixty thousand perished. Adrian built a city 
around Mount Calvary, and erected a marble statue of swine 
over the gate that led to Bethlehem. No Jew was allowed 
to enter the place, or to look at it from a distance under pain 
of death. A. D. 360 they began again to rebuild the city 
and temple of Jerusalem, under the order of the emperor 
Julian; but an earthquake happened, the workmen were 
scattered or killed, and the building materials destroyed. 

During the third, fourth and fifth centuries many of this 
friendless race were persecuted and murdered. In the 
sixth century twenty thousand were slain, and as many 
taken and sold for slaves. In the tenth, eleventh and 
twelfth centuries their miseries rather increased, especially 
in Egypt* where they were unremittingly persecuted. In 
addition to that, they suffered in the East by the Turkish 
war and the Crusades. One is shocked to think what mul- 
titudes were murdered by the Crusaders alone inGermany, 
Hungary, Asia Minor and elsewhere, up to the thirteenth 

and fourteenth centuries. Thousands were burned in 
Prance. From England, as early as A. 1). 1020, they were 

banished; and at the coronation of Richard 1, the mob lei! 
upon them, slaying all they could reach. Admit fifteen 

hundred were burned in the palace of York, 1m which they 



408 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

set fire themselves after killing their wives and children. 
All this butchery, persecution and outrage, fell to the lot of 
those called the people of God — who are said to have been 
inspired as priests and prophets for themselves and all 
mankind — but who were warned by all prophets against a 
terrible judgment upon their apostasy. 

There are many, distinct promises of the return of the 
Jew to the land of his fathers; there is an intense longing 
among the faithful to repossess the soil hallowed to them 
as no other can be; there is the possibility at least of 
giving to the future amid congenial associations a Judaism 
as fervent as that of the prophets' without any narrowness 
and without any bigotry. 

• The general truth of their revelation is established to a 
thoughtful mind by the marvelous continuance of this 
isolated people without a country, without a temple, 
without a home! a wreck tossed in mid-ocean but never 
destroyed ! buried sometimes beneath the waves of perse- 
cution, yet rising again upon the fiery billow! the only 
country they ever called their own crushed in turn by 
Assyrian and Egyptian, Crusader and Saracen, Arab and 
Turk! the only temple they can rightfully worship in 
denying them an entrance to its outer court — that temple 
long ago caught up in clouds of fire into the frowning- 
heavens! 

And yet, their faith in the future unimpaired; their 
attachment to the soil unshaken; their national identity 
un contaminated by any of the alluring lands where this 
wearied dove from the ark has sought rest for its feet. 
Surely, this amazing adhesion to what was once the highest 



THE JEWS AND JERUSALEM. 409 

truth from heaven deserves honor from men — may receive 
recompense from Jehovah. 

But, look a little closer at the scene: Palestine is now 
nearly deserted, especially beyond the Jordan. The Turk 
is a palsied power. No kingdom in the East has any 
desire for that scepter over which Christian blood flowed 
in a surging sea at the call of Peter the Hermit. But, a 
million and a half of Jews watch their ancient hearths 
with bloodshot eyes; watch the battle-grounds where their 
fathers bled, the olive groves where their prophets prayed, 
the ancient graves where their patriarchs repose. At a 
word of encouragement from any European power they 
are ready to pour in from Asia, xAirica and the neighborhood 
of Europe. They are familiar with the resources of the 
land, its wild mountain passes, its pathless wildernesses, 
its ancient strongholds. If not trained soldiers, they are 
trained to endure; if burning with the sense of outrage, 
they are patient as the brooding tempest; if slow to strike, 
they are not afraid to die for the hope of Israel. 

And in all the land from Dan to Beersheba there is noth- 
ing to withstand them — no fortified town — no disciplined 
army — not a single ship of war. The mere whisper of 
protection, from a strong government like Germany, would 
call together such numbers as thronged Israel in her palmy 

days — would change the wilderness once more into the 
crowded city, the desert into the garden of the Lord — 
would arouse a slumbering quarter of the world, send the 

warm pulse of improvement through the stagnant veins 
of the Orient, and bring back this wandering Prodigal to 
the great brotherhood of civilization, intelligence, hum an i- 



410 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

ty. Restored to their only home, to their one accepted 
altar, to their consecrated lake, grove, hilltop, burial place, 
the world would see a new pattern of oriental manhood: 
nay, the Christianity that befriended instead of insulting, 
might find free access to their fervent souls. And " the 
Lord (we are assured) will gather Israel from the people 
and assemble them out of the countries where they have 
been scattered, will comfort the waste places of Zion, and 
make her desert like the garden of the Lord.' 1 



CHRONOLOGY. 4H 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

CHRONOLOGY. 

THE greatest of all events since the creation of the 
world, was the birth of Jesus of Nazareth; and yet 
the time has not been ascertained with exactness, and is 
not likely to be; therefore to expect the particular dates of 
all events and transactions from what is called Anno 
Mundi. to the beginning- of our era, Anno Domini, a term 
of over four thousand years, is quite unreasonable. That 
many at this late day wonder why the birth of Jesus was 
not at the time particularly and exactly noted, is natural. 
He was a Jew, as well as his parents and friends, and to 
his nation wo are indebted in a great degree for all that 
concerns at least the early portion of his life. Though in 
the course of this work many passages have been noticed 
that are strongly contended for as pointing to the advent 
and mission of Jesus, there was (hiring none of the pro- 
phetic utterances the least thought of such a person as the 
Christian world esteem him to be. Had that been the case, 
not only the year, but the day and hour of his birth would 
have been most carefully recorded. David was not only a 
brave warrior, but a king combining great force ofcharac- 



412 SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

ter and lofty purposes, with a heart devoted to the worship 
of God. Daring the prophetic period — the great trials and 
deep humiliation of the Jews — they ardently prayed for 
some one to appear as a temporal, not spiritual redeemer, 
to sit on the throne of David and rule in righteousness. 
Had the principal men of the nation believed Jesus to have 
been such a one, the time of his birth would never have 
been lost. To say nothing of his low parentage, there 
was nothing in his early life to indicate ability above the 
common order. But, in the time of Josephus, if not before, 
the importance of ascertaining whether the beginning of 
our era corresponded with the birth of Him who was to 
found a new religion, was fully realized. Therefore the 
death of Herod is mentioned by Josephus as happening soon 
after the birth of Jesus, when the king had reigned thirty- 
four years from the death of Antigonus. Herod was de- 
clared king in the sixth Julian year, and took possession 
of the throne in three years. Hence, if Jesus was born 
in the latter part of the forty-second Julian year, or 4710 
of the Julian period, it would be four years before our 
common computation; and the death of Herod may have 
been a year or two later. 

The chronological tables of Alvah Bond, D.D., who re- 
vised Kitto's Illustrated History of the Bible, though varying 
in some respects from Usher and other able chronologists, 
are worthy of careful perusal. Professor Coleman, of 
Lafayette College, has many new ideas on this interesting- 
subject. None of his alterations have been adopted by us, 
for the reason chiefly that the Usher chronology has been 
incorporated with most of the theological works of the day. 



CHRONOLOGY. 413 

Dr. Bond, in speaking of chronology, says: " The subject 
is involved in perplexity. Learned men and antiquarians 
have been laboring in critical investigations for a solution 
of existing difficulties, but have thus far failed of reaching 
any satisfactory results. What has contributed the more 
to this chronological confusion, is the fact that the events 
of sacred history, as recorded in the Old Testament, are 
not given in the order of their occurrence." The Hebrew 
and Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Greek Septuagint, have 
each a different chronology, showing a discrepancy of hun- 
dreds of years between the birth of Jesus and the Adamite 
creation ; the greatest difference being between the Hebrew 
version and the Septuagint. Usher takes the Hebrew 
scriptures as the best authority; making the period from 
the creation of man to the birth of Jesus 4004 years. Dr. 
Hales, who adheres to the Septuagint, reckons this period 
at 5411 years, a difference of 1401 years. By many the 
Hebrew text is thought to be the most reliable. 

The Hebrews have a chronology which professes to be 
more correct than that of any other nation. They fix the 
date of Noah's birth at A. M. 1056, and the deluge at A. M. 
1656, or B. C. 2348. The compilers of the Septuagint made 
the birth of Noah A. M. 1602, and Hie Hood 600 years after, 
or A. M. 2262. The Samaritans put the birth of Noah at 
A. M. 707, and the deluge A. M. 1307. Writers contending 
for each of the above calculations give the genealogy some- 
what alike, the variations occurring mostly in the descend- 
ants. With a good degree of propriety it is said this 
COIlld not have happened by chance or the mistaking of a 
figure here and there; nor are the errors from any late 



4H SCRIPTURE SPECULATIONS. 

computation, but have existed from the remotest period. 
It follows then that some change has been made in the 
Hebrew text, or that the Septuagint is erroneous. Authors* 
are divided on this subject, as upon many other points of 
ancient history; some saying that the Hebrew has been; 
corrupted by the Jews, and others asserting that the Sep- 
tuagint has been altered. Writers of the highest repute r 
and among them Eusebius and Josephus, adopt the Hebrew 
text. Thomas Fenton, after years of research and prayerful 
study, says that the Hebrew text has beyond a doubt been 
corrupted, and also the Septuagint, but he adheres to 
the Hebrew. 

A question has arisen as to the length of the years when 
men attained such a great age before the flood. Many 
have contended that a year at that time was much less 
than now-a-days. The lunar year of 354 days does not 
differ enough from the solar to make more than a slight 
variation in the very longest lifetime. Abraham was born 
B. C. 1996, according to the old tables. St. Luke, in tracing 
the genealogy of Jesus up to Adam, uses the name Cainan, 
which is nowhere to be found in the Samaritan text r 
the Chaldaic paraphrase, or any of the oriental versions. 
Philo and Josephus, who used the version of the Septuagint,. 
did not admit him, nor did Irenseus, Theophilus nor Eusebius. 
His name is not in that ancient copy of the Septuagint at 
Rome. Was the name added by St. Luke ? is a question 
proper to be asked; and if answered in the affirmative- 
we are led to further inquire: By what authority? Mr. 
Fenton continues: "We are not bound to believe that the 
evangelists were inspired, but only that they deserve 



CHRONOLOGY. 415 

credit and had some records to refer to." Matthew and 
Luke differ inasmuch as Luke carries the genealogy 
through Nathan, while Matthew brings it down through 
Solomon from Zerubbabel to Matthan, the grandfather of 
Joseph. Matthew continues the genealogy through Abiud, 
and Luke by Rhesa. The names of the descendants of 
David are in all respects different, except those of Salathiel 
and Zerubbabel. An effort has been made to harmonize 
these differences, but it is too feeble to require notice. As 
the evangelists did not agree then, we have no sufficient 
grounds upon which to come to a conclusion. 

In view of the many tables now in use, and the fore- 
going considerations, and the fact that a new edition of 
the Bible is now being prepared, along with which we are 
sure to have a revised chronology that will supersede all 
the old ones, we waive our original purpose of giving a 
chronological table. This revised edition will not appear 
for some years hence; and from the fact that the best 
scholastic talent, and the profoundest biblical scholars 
in the world will be called into requisition, the result may 
be looked for with deep interest. 

We may in the course of this work have given quite too 
many dates; and in regard to them, and much else that has 
been said, expect to receive a large amount of criticism, 
all of which we hope to boar with patience and resignation. 



I N D E X . 



A. 

Aaron's idolatry Page 171 

Abel 102 

Abram 121 

Abram's covenant 123 

Abram's deception about Sarai 120 

Abram intimate with God 125 

Abimelech 219 

Absalom's conspiracy 203 

Adam 55 

Adam's fall 90 

Ages Before Adam 52, GO 

Amalek 103 

Amos 381 

Amos' earthquake unknown 382 

Ark 107, 200 

Atheism 22 

Atonement annual 179 

Astronomy 28, 39 

B. 

Babel 119 

Balaam and Balak 188 

Bathsheba 202 

Baldwin, J. G. quoted 57 

Beginning, what it is 15 

C. 

Canon and canonical 78 

Cain's murder of Abel 108 

Calf worship 280, 381 

Canaan, spies sent into 185 

Canticles 324 

Center of universe 37 

Changes in Deity 187 

Changes of earth is 

Chronicles, 1 292 

Chronicles, II 296 

Chronology doubtful 411 

Circumcision 124, 204 

Colenso quoted 79 

Comets 34 

Confusion of tongues 119 



Constellations Page 35 

Contradictions in history 298 

Covenant with Abram 123 



David's duel 243 

David's peril 246 

David's flight 247 

David established at Hebron 258 

David's prosperity 261 

David's lust 262 

David's conquests 293 

David's sin in the census 293 

David's death 271 

Daniel 368, 379 

Daniel's biography 368 

Daniel's dream interpretation 370 

Daniel's own dream 372 

Daniel in the den 375 

Daniel's vision 377 

De uge 105 

Deuteronomy 191, 200 

Doubtful decree to worship Jehovah, 377 



Earth's constitution 39, 52 

Earth's mass 41 

Earth's age 43 

Ecclesiastes 323 

Eden , garden of 94 

Egypt 54 

Egyptian monuments 66, 57 

Egypt, Jewish removal to 134 

Egyptian bondage 141 

Egyptian Exodus 157 

Ehud's barbarity 218 

Elijah 281 

Ellsha 283 

EUsha's raising the dead 280 

Endor'S familiar spirit 2~>'i 

Essenes 402 

Bather's story 806 

Exodus, book Of 186 



418 



INDEX 



Ezekiel Page 356, 368 

Ezekiel original 359 

Ezekiel wearisome 360 

Ezekiel imaginative 363 

Ezekiel vindicates God 366 

Ezra 71, 301 

Evil spirits 240 



Forever 293, 294 

G. 

Gehazi 286, 289 

Genesis 69 

Geology 47 

Gideon 215 

Glacial epochs 61 

God, the knowledge of 19 

" the definitions of 17 

" the titles of 17, 313 

the glory of 20 

Greg, W. R. quoted 22 



Habakkuk 388 

Hagar and Ishmael 123 

Haggai 391 

Handwriting on the wall 374 

Hartwig, George quoted 48 

Heat 42 

Heaven, meaning of word 91 

Hebrews when taken in hand by 

Moses 139 

Hell 335 

Honesty of Old Testament 130 

Hosea 379 

I. 

Icebergs 63 

Idolatry of Israel 219 

Inspiration of Old Testament 84 

Isaiah 329, 343 

Isaac's offering 128 

Isaac's marriage 128 

Idolatry of Israel 219 

Israel judged 332 

Israel a separate kingdom 280 



Jacob's marriage 129 

Jacob's treachery 129 

Jehovah 17 

Jesus prophesied 336, 338, 340, 387 

Jepthah 220 

Jeremiah 343 

Jericho 205 

Jeremiah's suffering 346 

Jeroboam 300 

Jethro's wisdom 179 

Jethro's counsel 167 

Jerusalem destroyed by Titus 403 

Jews and Jerusalem 395 

Jewish defeuce in Persia 310 

Jewish scriptures 66, 84 

Joel 379 

John Baptist prophesied 341 

Jonah and Nineveh 384 



Job, exceedingly ancient Page 311 

Job, the moral 315 

Joshua's conquests 208 

Joshua's cities of refuge 210 

Judges 211 

Joseph 131 

Joseph's dream 133 

Josiah's finding the scriptures 72 

Joshua 200, 211 

Jupiter 33 

K. 

Kings, 1 268 

Kings, II 280 

L. 

Lament of Jeremiah 352, 356 

Laws of Nature 41 

Leprosy 288 

Leviticus 177 

Longevity before the flood 414 

Lot 126 

Lyell quoted 62, 64 

M. 

Malachi 383 

Man, distinct races of 52 

Manna 163 

Mars 33 

Magic and magicians 136 

Man of God 290 

Mercury 32 

Midianites 215, 189 

Micah 224, 386 

Moabite destruction 285 

Mordecai 307 

Moses in romance 66 

Moses in Midian 67 

Moses' mission 142 

Moses' miracles 145, 153 

Moses' institutions 196 

Moses' character 194 

Moses' death 193 

N. 

Naaman, the Assyrian General 288 

Nahum 387 

Nebuchadnezzar 350 

Nebulous matter 40 

Nehemiah 303 

Noah 105 

Noah's descendants 116 

Noah's ark 107,113 

Numbers 181, 191 

Numbers extraordinary 299 

O. 

Obadiah 383 

Order of the march 195 

P. 

Passover instituted 154 

Peace prophesied 333 

Pentateuch written at dif 'nt periods 83 

Pharaoh 141 

Pharaoh's obstinacy 153 

Pharaoh's pursuit 159 



INDEX. 



419 



Pharaoh's destruction Page 161 

Philistines afflicted by the ark 234 

Pharisees 400 

Plagues of Egypt 149 

Proverbs, not Solomon's alone 321 

Prophets were poets and reformers, 326 

K. 

Rehoboam 299 

Rock formations 47 

Jtuth's story 226 

Ruth's marriage 230 

S. 

Sabbath 176 

Sadducees 399 

Samson 221 

Samuel's murder of Agag 239 

Samuel, 1 231 

Samuel, II 257 

Satan 313, 340 

. Saul 235 

Saul's insanity 240 

Saul's jealousy 245 

Saul's death 256 

Scribe 403 

Serpent in Eden 98 

Septuagint 74 

Sheba, Queen 298 

Sin introduced by Adam 97 

Sinai wanderings 164 

Sinai commandments 168, 170 



Sisera's fate Page 214 

Sodom 124, 126 

Solomon's grandeur 273 

Solomon's wisdom 274 

Solomon's uxoriousness 277 

Solomon as architect 296 

Starry Worlds 28 

Sun 29 

Sun spots 30 

T. 

Tabernacle 172, 173 

Talmud 74 

Targum 74 

Temple-building 275 

Ten Commandments 170 

Trent-Council 76 

U. 
Uranus 34 

V. 
Venus 32 

W. 

Wisdom personified 323 

Witch of Endor 252 

Z. 

Zechariah 392 

Zephaniah 389 

Ziklag recovered by David 255 



// 



7/ 



